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4 @settitle Semi-gnus 6.10.014 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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264 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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273 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
275 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
276 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
277 are preserved on all copies.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
280 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
281 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
282 permission notice identical to this one.
284 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
285 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
294 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
296 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
303 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
304 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
305 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
306 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
310 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
311 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
312 permission notice identical to this one.
314 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
315 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
321 @title Semi-gnus 6.10.014 Manual
323 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
326 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
327 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
329 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
330 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
331 are preserved on all copies.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
334 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
335 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
336 permission notice identical to this one.
338 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
339 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
348 @top The gnus Newsreader
352 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
353 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
354 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
357 Semi-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So Semi-gnus
358 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
359 other various kinds of formats. Semi-gnus also supports
360 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
361 API. So Semi-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
362 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
364 This manual corresponds to Semi-gnus 6.10.014.
375 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
376 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
378 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
379 being accused of plagiarism:
381 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
382 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
383 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
384 even read news with it!
386 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
387 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
388 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
389 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
390 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
397 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
398 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
399 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
400 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
401 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
402 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
403 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
404 * Various:: General purpose settings.
405 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
406 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
407 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
408 * Key Index:: Key Index.
412 @chapter Starting gnus
417 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
418 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
421 @findex gnus-other-frame
422 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
423 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
424 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
426 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
427 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
428 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
430 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
431 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
436 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
437 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
438 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
439 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
440 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
441 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
442 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
443 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
444 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
448 @node Finding the News
449 @section Finding the News
452 @vindex gnus-select-method
454 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
455 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
456 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
457 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are foreign
460 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
461 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
464 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
467 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
470 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
473 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
474 certainly be much faster.
476 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
478 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
479 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
480 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
481 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
482 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
483 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an
484 @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
486 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
487 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
488 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
489 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
491 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
492 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
493 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
494 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
495 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
496 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
498 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
500 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
501 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
502 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
503 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
504 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
505 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
507 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
509 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
510 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
511 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
512 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
513 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
514 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
517 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
518 would typically set this variable to
521 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
526 @section The First Time
527 @cindex first time usage
529 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
530 be subscribed by default.
532 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
533 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
534 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
535 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
538 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
539 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
540 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
542 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
543 help you with most common problems.
545 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
546 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
550 @node The Server is Down
551 @section The Server is Down
552 @cindex server errors
554 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
555 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
556 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
558 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
559 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
560 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
561 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
562 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
563 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
564 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
566 @findex gnus-no-server
567 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
569 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
570 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
571 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
572 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
573 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
574 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
579 @section Slave Gnusae
582 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
583 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if
584 you are using the two different gnusae to read from two different
585 servers), that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
587 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
590 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
591 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and @dfn{slaves}.
592 (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have taken out a
593 copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in conjunction
594 with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to me. Usage of
595 the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer Applications})
596 will be much more expensive, of course.)
598 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
599 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
600 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
601 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
602 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
603 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
604 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
605 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
607 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
608 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
611 @node Fetching a Group
612 @section Fetching a Group
613 @cindex fetching a group
615 @findex gnus-fetch-group
616 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
617 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
618 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
619 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
620 It takes the group name as a parameter.
628 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
629 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
630 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
631 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
632 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
633 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
634 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
635 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
636 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
639 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
640 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
641 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
645 @node Checking New Groups
646 @subsection Checking New Groups
648 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
649 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
650 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
651 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
652 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
653 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
654 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
655 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
656 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
657 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
659 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
660 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
661 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
662 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
663 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't work.
664 I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server supports
665 @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't. You could
666 @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see whether it lists
667 @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If it does, then it
668 might work. (But there are servers that lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} without
669 supporting the function properly.)
671 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
672 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
673 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
674 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
675 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
676 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
679 @node Subscription Methods
680 @subsection Subscription Methods
682 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
683 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
684 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
686 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
687 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
689 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
693 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
694 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
695 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
696 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
697 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
699 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
700 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
701 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
702 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
704 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
705 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
706 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
708 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
709 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
710 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
711 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
712 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
713 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
714 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
715 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
716 up. Or something like that.
718 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
719 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
720 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask you
721 about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe to
722 will be subscribed hierarchically.
724 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
725 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
730 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
731 A closely related variable is
732 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
733 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
734 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
735 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
738 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
739 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
740 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
741 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
744 @node Filtering New Groups
745 @subsection Filtering New Groups
747 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
748 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
749 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
752 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
755 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
756 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
757 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
758 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
759 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
760 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
761 subscribing these groups.
762 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
763 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
765 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
766 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
767 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
768 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
769 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
770 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
771 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
772 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
774 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
775 Yet another variable that meddles here is
776 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
777 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
778 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
779 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
780 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
781 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
782 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
783 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
785 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
786 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
789 @node Changing Servers
790 @section Changing Servers
791 @cindex changing servers
793 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
794 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
795 very flaky and you want to use another.
797 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
798 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
802 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
803 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
804 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
805 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
808 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
809 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
810 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
811 functions more than absolutely necessary.
813 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
814 @findex gnus-change-server
815 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
816 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
817 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
818 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
819 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
821 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
822 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
823 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
824 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
825 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
827 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
828 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
829 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
830 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
831 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
832 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
836 @section Startup Files
837 @cindex startup files
842 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
843 information is traditionally stored in this file.
845 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{GNUS}. In addition to
846 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
847 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
848 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
849 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{GNUS} would read whichever one of these
850 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
851 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
853 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
854 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
855 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
856 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
857 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
858 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
860 In addition, gnus does not change anything. Hail comrade Lars!
862 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
863 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
864 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
865 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
866 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
867 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
869 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
870 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
871 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
872 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
873 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
874 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
875 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
876 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
877 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
878 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
879 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
880 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
882 @vindex gnus-startup-file
883 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
884 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
885 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
887 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
888 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
889 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
890 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
891 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
892 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
893 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
894 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
895 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
896 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
899 (defun turn-off-backup ()
900 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
902 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
903 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
906 @vindex gnus-init-file
907 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
908 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
909 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
910 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
911 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
912 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
913 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
914 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
915 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
924 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
925 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
926 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
927 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
928 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
931 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
932 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file
935 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
936 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
937 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
939 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
940 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
941 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
942 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
943 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
944 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
946 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
947 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
948 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
951 @node The Active File
952 @section The Active File
954 @cindex ignored groups
956 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
957 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
958 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
960 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
961 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
962 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
963 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
964 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
965 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
966 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
969 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
970 @c if you set it to anything else.
972 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
974 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
975 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
976 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
978 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
979 you actually subscribe to.
981 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
982 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
983 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
984 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
986 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
987 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
988 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
989 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
990 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
991 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
993 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
994 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
995 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
996 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
997 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
998 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1000 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1001 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1003 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1004 secondary select methods.
1007 @node Startup Variables
1008 @section Startup Variables
1012 @item gnus-load-hook
1013 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1014 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1015 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1016 times you start gnus.
1018 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1019 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1020 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1022 @item gnus-startup-hook
1023 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1024 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1026 @item gnus-started-hook
1027 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1028 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1031 @item gnus-started-hook
1032 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1033 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1034 generating the group buffer.
1036 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1037 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1038 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1039 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1040 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1041 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1042 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1043 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1045 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1046 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1047 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1048 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1049 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1050 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1052 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1053 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1054 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1056 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1057 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1058 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1060 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1061 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1062 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1063 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1068 @node The Group Buffer
1069 @chapter The Group Buffer
1070 @cindex group buffer
1072 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1073 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1074 long as gnus is active.
1078 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1079 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1080 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1081 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1082 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1083 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1084 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1085 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1091 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1092 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1093 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1094 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1095 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1096 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1097 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1098 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1099 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1100 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1101 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1102 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1103 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1104 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1105 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1106 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1107 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1111 @node Group Buffer Format
1112 @section Group Buffer Format
1115 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1116 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1117 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1121 @node Group Line Specification
1122 @subsection Group Line Specification
1123 @cindex group buffer format
1125 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1126 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1128 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1131 25: news.announce.newusers
1132 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1137 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1138 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1139 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1140 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1142 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1143 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1144 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1145 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1146 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1147 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1149 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1151 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1152 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1153 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1154 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1157 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1158 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1159 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1161 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1166 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1169 Whether the group is subscribed.
1172 Level of subscribedness.
1175 Number of unread articles.
1178 Number of dormant articles.
1181 Number of ticked articles.
1184 Number of read articles.
1187 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1188 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1191 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1194 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1203 Newsgroup description.
1206 @samp{m} if moderated.
1209 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1218 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1222 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1225 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1226 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1227 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1228 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1229 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1232 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1234 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1238 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1242 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1243 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1244 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1245 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1246 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1247 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1252 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1253 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1254 group, or a bogus native group.
1257 @node Group Modeline Specification
1258 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1259 @cindex group modeline
1261 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1262 The mode line can be changed by setting
1263 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1264 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1268 The native news server.
1270 The native select method.
1274 @node Group Highlighting
1275 @subsection Group Highlighting
1276 @cindex highlighting
1277 @cindex group highlighting
1279 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1280 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1281 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1282 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1283 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1285 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1289 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1
1290 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1291 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2
1292 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1293 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3
1294 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1295 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4
1296 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1297 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5
1298 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1300 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1301 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1302 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1303 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1304 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1305 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1308 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1310 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1317 The number of unread articles in the group.
1321 Whether the group is a mail group.
1323 The level of the group.
1325 The score of the group.
1327 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1329 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1330 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1332 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1333 topic being inserted.
1336 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1337 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1338 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1340 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1341 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1342 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1343 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1344 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1347 @node Group Maneuvering
1348 @section Group Maneuvering
1349 @cindex group movement
1351 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1352 expected, hopefully.
1358 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1359 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1360 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1366 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1367 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1368 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1372 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1373 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1377 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1378 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1382 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1383 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1384 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1388 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1389 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1390 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1393 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1399 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1400 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1401 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1406 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1407 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1408 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1412 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1413 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1414 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1417 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1418 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1419 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1420 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1424 @node Selecting a Group
1425 @section Selecting a Group
1426 @cindex group selection
1431 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1432 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1433 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1434 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1435 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1436 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1437 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1438 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1439 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1440 negative, gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1444 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1445 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1446 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1447 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1448 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1452 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1453 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1454 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1455 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1456 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1457 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1458 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1459 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1460 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1461 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1464 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1465 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1466 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1467 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1468 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1471 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1472 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1473 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1474 doing any processing of its contents
1475 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1476 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1477 manner will have no permanent effects.
1481 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1482 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1483 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1484 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1485 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1486 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1487 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1488 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1491 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1492 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1493 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1494 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1499 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1500 full summary buffer.
1503 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1506 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1510 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1511 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1512 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1516 @node Subscription Commands
1517 @section Subscription Commands
1518 @cindex subscription
1526 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1527 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1528 Toggle subscription to the current group
1529 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1535 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1536 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1537 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1538 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1544 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1545 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1546 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1552 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1553 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1556 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1557 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1558 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1559 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1560 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1566 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1567 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1571 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1572 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1575 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1576 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1577 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1578 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1579 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1580 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1581 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1582 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1583 @file{.newsrc} file.
1587 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1597 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1598 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1599 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1600 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1601 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1602 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group
1603 from the group buffer.
1607 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1608 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1609 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1613 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1614 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1615 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1617 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1618 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1619 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1620 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1621 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1622 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1629 @section Group Levels
1633 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1634 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1635 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1636 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1637 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1639 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1645 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1646 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1647 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1648 prompted for a level.
1651 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1652 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1653 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1654 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1655 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1656 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1657 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1658 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1659 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1660 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1661 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1662 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1663 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1664 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1665 reasons of efficiency.
1667 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1668 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1670 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1671 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1672 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1674 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1675 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1676 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1677 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1678 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1679 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1680 relevant valid ranges.
1682 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1683 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1684 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1685 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1686 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1687 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1690 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1691 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1692 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1695 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1696 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1697 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1698 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1701 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1702 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1703 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1704 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1706 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1707 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1708 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1709 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1710 to 5. The default is 6.
1714 @section Group Score
1719 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1720 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1721 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1724 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1725 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1726 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1727 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1728 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1729 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1730 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1732 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1733 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1734 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1735 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1736 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1737 action after each summary exit, you can add
1738 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1739 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1740 slow things down somewhat.
1743 @node Marking Groups
1744 @section Marking Groups
1745 @cindex marking groups
1747 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1748 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1749 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1750 bidding on those groups.
1752 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1753 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1754 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1762 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1763 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1769 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1770 Remove the mark from the current group
1771 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1775 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1776 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1780 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1781 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1785 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1786 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1790 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1791 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1792 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1795 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1797 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1798 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1799 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1800 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1801 the command to be executed.
1804 @node Foreign Groups
1805 @section Foreign Groups
1806 @cindex foreign groups
1808 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1809 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1810 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1811 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1818 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1819 @cindex making groups
1820 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1821 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1822 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1826 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1827 @cindex renaming groups
1828 Rename the current group to something else
1829 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1830 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1836 @findex gnus-group-customize
1837 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1841 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1842 @cindex renaming groups
1843 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1844 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1848 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1849 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1850 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1854 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1855 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1856 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1860 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1862 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1863 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1868 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1869 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1873 @cindex (ding) archive
1874 @cindex archive group
1875 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1876 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1877 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1878 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1879 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1880 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1881 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1885 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1887 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1888 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1889 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1890 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1894 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1896 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1897 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1898 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1902 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1903 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1905 Make a group based on some file or other
1906 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1907 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1908 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1909 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1910 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1911 this command without a prefix, gnus will guess at the file type.
1912 @xref{Document Groups}.
1916 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
1917 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
1918 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
1919 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
1923 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1928 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1929 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1930 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1931 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1932 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1933 @xref{Web Searches}.
1935 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1936 to a particular group by using a match string like
1937 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1940 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1941 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1942 This function will delete the current group
1943 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1944 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1945 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1946 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1947 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1951 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1952 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1953 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1957 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1958 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1959 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1962 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1965 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1966 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1967 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1968 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1969 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1970 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1974 @node Group Parameters
1975 @section Group Parameters
1976 @cindex group parameters
1978 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1979 Here's an example group parameter list:
1982 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1986 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing
1987 before the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value.
1988 All the parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs,
1989 which are not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
1991 The following group parameters can be used:
1996 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
1999 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2002 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2003 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2004 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2005 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2006 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2008 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2009 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2010 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2011 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2012 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2013 list address instead.
2017 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2020 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2023 It is totally ignored
2024 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2025 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2027 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2028 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2029 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2030 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2031 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2033 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2034 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2035 sending the message.
2039 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2040 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2041 of whether it has any unread articles.
2043 @item broken-reply-to
2044 @cindex broken-reply-to
2045 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2046 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2047 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2048 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2049 broken behavior. So there!
2053 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2054 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2058 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2059 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2060 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2065 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2066 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2067 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2068 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2069 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2070 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2071 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2075 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2076 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2077 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2080 @cindex total-expire
2081 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2082 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2083 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2084 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2089 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2090 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2091 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2092 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2093 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2094 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2097 @cindex score file group parameter
2098 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2099 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2100 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2103 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2104 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2105 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2106 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2109 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2110 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2111 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2112 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2115 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2116 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2120 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2123 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2128 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2129 arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by gnus,
2130 but provide a place for you to store information on particular groups.
2133 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2134 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2135 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2137 @item @var{(variable form)}
2138 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2139 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2140 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2141 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2142 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2143 @code{eval}ed there.
2145 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2146 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2147 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2148 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2149 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2153 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2154 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2158 @node Listing Groups
2159 @section Listing Groups
2160 @cindex group listing
2162 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2170 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2171 List all groups that have unread articles
2172 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2173 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2174 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2175 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2182 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2183 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2184 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2185 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2186 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2187 unsubscribed groups).
2191 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2192 List all unread groups on a specific level
2193 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2194 with no unread articles.
2198 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2199 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2200 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2201 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2206 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2207 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2211 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2212 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2213 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2217 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2218 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2222 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2223 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2224 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2225 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2226 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2227 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2228 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2229 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2233 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2234 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2235 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2239 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2240 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2241 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2245 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2246 @cindex visible group parameter
2247 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2248 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2249 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2250 get the same effect.
2252 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2253 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2254 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2255 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2256 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2259 @node Sorting Groups
2260 @section Sorting Groups
2261 @cindex sorting groups
2263 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2264 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2265 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2266 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2267 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2268 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2273 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2274 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2275 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2277 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2278 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2279 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2281 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2282 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2283 Sort by group level.
2285 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2286 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2287 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2289 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2290 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2291 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2292 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2294 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2295 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2296 Sort by number of unread articles.
2298 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2299 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2300 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2305 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2306 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2310 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2311 some sorting criteria:
2315 @kindex G S a (Group)
2316 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2317 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2318 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2321 @kindex G S u (Group)
2322 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2323 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2324 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2327 @kindex G S l (Group)
2328 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2329 Sort the group buffer by group level
2330 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2333 @kindex G S v (Group)
2334 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2335 Sort the group buffer by group score
2336 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2339 @kindex G S r (Group)
2340 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2341 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2342 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2345 @kindex G S m (Group)
2346 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2347 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2348 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2352 All the commands below obeys the process/prefix convention
2353 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2355 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2356 commands will sort in reverse order.
2358 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2362 @kindex G P a (Group)
2363 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2364 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2365 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2368 @kindex G P u (Group)
2369 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2370 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2371 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2374 @kindex G P l (Group)
2375 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2376 Sort the groups by group level
2377 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2380 @kindex G P v (Group)
2381 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2382 Sort the groups by group score
2383 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2386 @kindex G P r (Group)
2387 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2388 Sort the groups by group rank
2389 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2392 @kindex G P m (Group)
2393 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2394 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2395 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2401 @node Group Maintenance
2402 @section Group Maintenance
2403 @cindex bogus groups
2408 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2409 Find bogus groups and delete them
2410 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2414 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2415 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2416 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2417 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2418 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2422 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2423 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2424 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2425 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2428 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2429 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2430 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2431 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2436 @node Browse Foreign Server
2437 @section Browse Foreign Server
2438 @cindex foreign servers
2439 @cindex browsing servers
2444 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2445 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2446 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2447 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2450 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2451 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2452 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2453 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2455 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2460 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2461 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2465 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2466 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2469 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2470 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2471 Enter the current group and display the first article
2472 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2475 @kindex RET (Browse)
2476 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2477 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2481 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2482 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2483 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2489 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2490 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2494 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2495 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2496 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2501 @section Exiting gnus
2502 @cindex exiting gnus
2504 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
2509 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2510 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit
2511 gnus, but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure
2512 why this is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2516 @findex gnus-group-exit
2517 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2518 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2522 @findex gnus-group-quit
2523 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files
2524 (@code{gnus-group-quit}). The dribble file will be saved, though
2525 (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2528 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2529 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2530 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
2531 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
2532 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2537 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2538 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2539 trying to customize meta-variables.
2544 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2545 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2546 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2552 @section Group Topics
2555 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2556 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2557 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2558 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2559 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2560 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2564 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2565 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2576 2: alt.religion.emacs
2579 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2581 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2582 13: comp.sources.unix
2585 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2587 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2588 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2589 is a toggling command.)
2591 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2592 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2593 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2594 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2597 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2598 the hook for the group mode:
2601 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2605 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2606 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2607 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2608 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2609 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2613 @node Topic Variables
2614 @subsection Topic Variables
2615 @cindex topic variables
2617 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2618 really neat, I think.
2620 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2621 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2622 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2635 Number of groups in the topic.
2637 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2639 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2642 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2643 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2644 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2647 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2648 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2650 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2651 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2652 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2655 @node Topic Commands
2656 @subsection Topic Commands
2657 @cindex topic commands
2659 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2660 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2661 definitions slightly.
2667 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2668 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2669 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2673 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2674 Move the current group to some other topic
2675 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2676 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2680 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2681 Copy the current group to some other topic
2682 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2683 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2687 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2688 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2689 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2690 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2691 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2692 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2693 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2696 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2697 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2701 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2702 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2703 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2707 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2708 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2709 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2713 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2714 Toggle hiding empty topics
2715 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2719 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2720 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2721 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2724 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2725 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2726 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2727 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2731 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2733 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2734 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2735 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2736 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2737 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2738 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2742 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2744 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2745 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2746 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2747 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2750 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2751 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2752 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2753 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2757 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2758 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2759 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2763 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2764 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2765 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2770 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2771 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2774 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2775 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2776 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2780 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2781 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2782 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2786 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2787 @cindex group parameters
2788 @cindex topic parameters
2790 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2791 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2797 @subsection Topic Sorting
2798 @cindex topic sorting
2800 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2806 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2807 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2808 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2809 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2812 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2813 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2814 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2815 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2818 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2819 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2820 Sort the current topic by group level
2821 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2824 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2825 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2826 Sort the current topic by group score
2827 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2830 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2831 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2832 Sort the current topic by group rank
2833 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2836 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2837 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2838 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2839 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2843 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2846 @node Topic Topology
2847 @subsection Topic Topology
2848 @cindex topic topology
2851 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2857 2: alt.religion.emacs
2860 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2862 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2863 13: comp.sources.unix
2866 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2867 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2868 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2873 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2874 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2878 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2879 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2880 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2881 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2882 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2883 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2885 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2886 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2887 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2890 @node Topic Parameters
2891 @subsection Topic Parameters
2892 @cindex topic parameters
2894 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2895 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2896 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2898 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2899 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2900 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2901 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2907 2: alt.religion.emacs
2911 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2913 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2914 13: comp.sources.unix
2918 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2919 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2920 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2921 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2922 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2923 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2925 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2926 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2927 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2928 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2929 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2931 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2932 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2933 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2934 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2935 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2936 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2937 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2938 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2941 @node Misc Group Stuff
2942 @section Misc Group Stuff
2945 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2946 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
2947 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2948 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
2955 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2956 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2957 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2961 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2962 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2963 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2967 @findex gnus-group-mail
2968 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2972 Variables for the group buffer:
2976 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2977 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2978 is called after the group buffer has been
2981 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2982 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2983 is called after the group buffer is
2984 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2987 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
2988 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2989 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
2990 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
2992 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2993 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2994 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2995 whether they are empty or not.
3000 @node Scanning New Messages
3001 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3002 @cindex new messages
3003 @cindex scanning new news
3009 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3010 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3011 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3012 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3013 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3014 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3019 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3020 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3021 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3022 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3023 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3024 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3025 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3027 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3028 @cindex activating groups
3030 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3031 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3036 @findex gnus-group-restart
3037 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3038 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3039 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3043 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3044 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3046 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3047 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3051 @node Group Information
3052 @subsection Group Information
3053 @cindex group information
3054 @cindex information on groups
3061 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3062 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3065 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3066 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3067 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3068 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3069 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3070 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3071 for fetching the file.
3073 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3074 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3078 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3080 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3081 @cindex describing groups
3082 @cindex group description
3083 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3084 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3085 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3089 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3090 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3091 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3098 @findex gnus-version
3099 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3103 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3104 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3107 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3110 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3111 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3115 @node Group Timestamp
3116 @subsection Group Timestamp
3118 @cindex group timestamps
3120 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3121 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3122 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3125 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3128 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3130 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3131 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3134 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3135 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3138 This will result in lines looking like:
3141 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3142 0: custom 19961002T012713
3145 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3146 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3150 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3151 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3156 @subsection File Commands
3157 @cindex file commands
3163 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3164 @vindex gnus-init-file
3165 @cindex reading init file
3166 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3167 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3171 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3172 @cindex saving .newsrc
3173 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3174 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3175 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3178 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3179 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3180 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3185 @node The Summary Buffer
3186 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3187 @cindex summary buffer
3189 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3190 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3192 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3193 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3195 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3198 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3199 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3200 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3201 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3202 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3203 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3204 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3205 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3206 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3207 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3208 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3209 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3210 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3211 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3212 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3213 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3214 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3215 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3216 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3217 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3218 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3219 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3220 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3221 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3222 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3223 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3224 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3225 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3229 @node Summary Buffer Format
3230 @section Summary Buffer Format
3231 @cindex summary buffer format
3235 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3236 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3237 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3243 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3244 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3245 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3248 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3249 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3250 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3251 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3252 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3253 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3254 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3255 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3256 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3257 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3258 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3259 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3260 other function instead.
3262 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3263 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3264 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3265 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3268 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3269 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3271 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3272 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3273 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3274 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3275 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3277 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3279 The following format specification characters are understood:
3287 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3288 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3289 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3291 Full @code{From} header.
3293 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3295 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3296 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3297 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3298 may be more thorough.
3300 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3303 Number of lines in the article.
3305 Number of characters in the article.
3307 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3309 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3310 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3312 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3313 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3315 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3316 for adopted articles.
3318 One space for each thread level.
3320 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3325 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3326 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3330 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3332 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3333 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3334 default level. If the difference between
3335 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3336 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3344 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3346 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3352 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3353 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3355 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3356 article has any children.
3362 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3363 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3364 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3365 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3366 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3367 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3370 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3371 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
3372 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3373 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3374 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3375 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3377 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3378 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3380 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
3383 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3384 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3386 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3387 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3388 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3389 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3391 Here are the elements you can play with:
3397 Unprefixed group name.
3399 Current article number.
3401 Current article score.
3405 Number of unread articles in this group.
3407 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3410 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3411 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3412 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3413 and no unselected ones.
3415 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3416 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3418 Subject of the current article.
3420 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3422 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3424 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3426 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3428 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3430 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3434 @node Summary Highlighting
3435 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3439 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3440 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3441 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3442 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3443 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3445 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3446 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3447 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3448 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3450 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3451 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3452 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3453 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3455 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3456 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3457 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3458 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3459 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3460 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3462 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3463 ((> score default) . bold))
3465 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3466 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3470 @node Summary Maneuvering
3471 @section Summary Maneuvering
3472 @cindex summary movement
3474 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3475 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3477 None of these commands select articles.
3482 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3483 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3484 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3485 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3486 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3490 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3491 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3492 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3493 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3494 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3499 @kindex G j (Summary)
3500 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3501 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3502 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3505 @kindex G g (Summary)
3506 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3507 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3508 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3511 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3512 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3513 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3514 to the group buffer.
3516 Variables related to summary movement:
3520 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3521 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3522 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3523 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
3524 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3525 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3526 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
3527 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3528 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
3529 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3530 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3531 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3532 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3533 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3535 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3536 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3537 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3538 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3539 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3540 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3541 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3543 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3545 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3546 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3547 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3548 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3549 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3551 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3552 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3553 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3554 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3555 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3556 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3557 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3558 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3564 @node Choosing Articles
3565 @section Choosing Articles
3566 @cindex selecting articles
3569 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3570 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3574 @node Choosing Commands
3575 @subsection Choosing Commands
3577 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3578 and they all select and display an article.
3582 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3583 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3584 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3585 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3590 @kindex G n (Summary)
3591 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3592 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3593 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3598 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3599 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3600 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3605 @kindex G N (Summary)
3606 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3607 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3612 @kindex G P (Summary)
3613 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3614 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3617 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3618 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3619 Go to the next article with the same subject
3620 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3623 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3624 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3625 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3626 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3630 @kindex G f (Summary)
3632 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3633 Go to the first unread article
3634 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3638 @kindex G b (Summary)
3640 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3641 Go to the article with the highest score
3642 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3647 @kindex G l (Summary)
3648 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3649 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3652 @kindex G o (Summary)
3653 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3655 @cindex article history
3656 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3657 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3658 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3659 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3660 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3661 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3665 @node Choosing Variables
3666 @subsection Choosing Variables
3668 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3671 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3672 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3673 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3674 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3675 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3676 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3678 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3679 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3680 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3681 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3683 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3684 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3685 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3686 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3687 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3688 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3689 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3690 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3691 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3692 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3693 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3694 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3695 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3696 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3701 @node Paging the Article
3702 @section Scrolling the Article
3703 @cindex article scrolling
3708 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3709 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3710 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3711 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3712 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3715 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3716 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3717 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3720 @kindex RET (Summary)
3721 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3722 Scroll the current article one line forward
3723 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3726 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3727 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3728 Scroll the current article one line backward
3729 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3733 @kindex A g (Summary)
3735 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3736 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3737 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3738 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3739 the way it came from the server.
3744 @kindex A < (Summary)
3745 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3746 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3747 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3752 @kindex A > (Summary)
3753 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3754 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3758 @kindex A s (Summary)
3760 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3761 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3762 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3766 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3767 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3772 @node Reply Followup and Post
3773 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3776 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3777 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3781 @node Summary Mail Commands
3782 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3784 @cindex composing mail
3786 Commands for composing a mail message:
3792 @kindex S r (Summary)
3794 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3795 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3796 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3797 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3798 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3803 @kindex S R (Summary)
3804 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3805 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3806 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3807 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3808 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3811 @kindex S w (Summary)
3812 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3813 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3814 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3815 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3816 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3819 @kindex S W (Summary)
3820 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3821 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3822 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3823 the process/prefix convention.
3826 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3827 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3828 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3829 Forward the current article to some other person
3830 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3831 headers of the forwarded article.
3836 @kindex S m (Summary)
3837 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3838 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3839 Send a mail to some other person
3840 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3843 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3844 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3845 @cindex bouncing mail
3846 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3847 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3848 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3849 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3850 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3851 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
3852 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3853 very well fail, though.
3856 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3857 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3858 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3859 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3860 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3861 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3862 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3863 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3864 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3865 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3867 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3868 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3869 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3870 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3871 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung mu
\e,A_
\e(B sein!
3873 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3874 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3877 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3878 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3879 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3880 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3881 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3884 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3885 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3886 @cindex crossposting
3887 @cindex excessive crossposting
3888 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3889 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3891 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3892 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3893 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3894 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3895 command understands the process/prefix convention
3896 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3900 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3903 @node Summary Post Commands
3904 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3906 @cindex composing news
3908 Commands for posting a news article:
3914 @kindex S p (Summary)
3915 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3916 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3917 Post an article to the current group
3918 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3923 @kindex S f (Summary)
3924 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3925 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3926 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3930 @kindex S F (Summary)
3932 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3933 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3934 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3935 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3936 process/prefix convention.
3939 @kindex S n (Summary)
3940 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3941 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3942 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3945 @kindex S N (Summary)
3946 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
3947 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3948 message through mail and include the original message
3949 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3950 the process/prefix convention.
3953 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3954 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3955 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3956 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3957 headers of the forwarded article.
3960 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3961 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3963 @cindex making digests
3964 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3965 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3966 process/prefix convention.
3969 @kindex S u (Summary)
3970 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3971 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3972 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3973 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3976 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3979 @node Canceling and Superseding
3980 @section Canceling Articles
3981 @cindex canceling articles
3982 @cindex superseding articles
3984 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3985 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3987 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3989 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3991 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3992 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3993 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3994 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3995 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3996 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3998 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3999 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4002 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4003 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4004 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4006 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4007 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4008 your original article.
4010 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4012 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4013 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4014 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4017 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4018 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4019 have posted almost the same article twice.
4021 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4022 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4023 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4024 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4025 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4026 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4027 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4028 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4029 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4030 canceled/superseded.
4032 Just remember, kids: There is no `c' in `supersede'.
4035 @node Marking Articles
4036 @section Marking Articles
4037 @cindex article marking
4038 @cindex article ticking
4041 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4043 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4044 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4045 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4047 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4050 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4051 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4052 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4056 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4060 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4061 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4065 @node Unread Articles
4066 @subsection Unread Articles
4068 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4073 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4074 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4076 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4077 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4078 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4079 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4080 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4084 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4085 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4087 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4088 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4089 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4092 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4093 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4095 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4100 @subsection Read Articles
4101 @cindex expirable mark
4103 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4108 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4109 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4110 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4113 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4114 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4117 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4118 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4119 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4122 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4123 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4126 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4127 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4130 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4131 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4134 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4135 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4138 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4139 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4142 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4143 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4146 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4147 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4151 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4152 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4153 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4157 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4158 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4160 One more special mark, though:
4164 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4165 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4167 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4168 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4169 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4170 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at any time.
4175 @subsection Other Marks
4176 @cindex process mark
4179 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4185 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4186 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4187 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4188 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4189 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4192 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4193 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4194 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4195 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4198 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4199 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4200 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4203 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4204 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4205 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4206 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4209 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4210 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4211 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4212 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4213 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4216 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4217 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4218 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4219 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4220 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4221 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4225 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4226 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4227 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4229 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4230 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4231 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4235 @subsection Setting Marks
4236 @cindex setting marks
4238 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4243 @kindex M c (Summary)
4244 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4245 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4246 @cindex mark as unread
4247 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4248 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4254 @kindex M t (Summary)
4255 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4256 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4257 @xref{Article Caching}
4262 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4263 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4264 Mark the current article as dormant
4265 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4269 @kindex M d (Summary)
4271 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4272 Mark the current article as read
4273 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4277 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4278 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4279 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4284 @kindex M k (Summary)
4285 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4286 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4287 and then select the next unread article
4288 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4292 @kindex M K (Summary)
4293 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4294 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4295 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4296 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4299 @kindex M C (Summary)
4300 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4301 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4302 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4305 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4306 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4307 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4308 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4311 @kindex M H (Summary)
4312 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4313 Catchup the current group to point
4314 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4317 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4318 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4319 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4320 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4323 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4324 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4325 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4326 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4330 @kindex M e (Summary)
4332 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4333 Mark the current article as expirable
4334 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4337 @kindex M b (Summary)
4338 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4339 Set a bookmark in the current article
4340 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4343 @kindex M B (Summary)
4344 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4345 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4346 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4349 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4350 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4351 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4352 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4355 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4356 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4357 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4358 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4361 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4362 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4363 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4364 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4365 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4368 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4369 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4370 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4371 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4372 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4373 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4374 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4375 The default is @code{t}.
4378 @node Setting Process Marks
4379 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4380 @cindex setting process marks
4387 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4388 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4389 Mark the current article with the process mark
4390 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4391 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4395 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4396 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4397 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4398 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4401 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4402 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4403 Remove the process mark from all articles
4404 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4407 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4408 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4409 Invert the list of process marked articles
4410 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4413 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4414 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4415 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4416 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4419 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4420 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4421 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4424 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4425 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4426 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4427 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4430 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4431 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4432 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4433 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4436 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4437 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4438 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4439 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4442 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4443 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4444 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4447 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4449 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4450 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4453 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4454 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4455 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4458 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4459 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4460 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4461 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4464 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4465 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4466 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4467 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4470 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4471 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4472 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4473 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4476 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4477 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4478 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4479 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4488 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4489 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4490 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4493 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4494 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4495 additional articles.
4501 @kindex / / (Summary)
4502 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4503 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4504 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4507 @kindex / a (Summary)
4508 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4509 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4510 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4514 @kindex / u (Summary)
4516 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4517 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4518 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4519 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4520 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4523 @kindex / m (Summary)
4524 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4525 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4526 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4529 @kindex / t (Summary)
4530 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4531 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4532 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4533 articles younger than that number of days.
4536 @kindex / n (Summary)
4537 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4538 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4539 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4540 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4543 @kindex / w (Summary)
4544 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4545 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4546 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4550 @kindex / v (Summary)
4551 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4552 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4553 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4557 @kindex M S (Summary)
4558 @kindex / E (Summary)
4559 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4560 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4561 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4564 @kindex / D (Summary)
4565 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4566 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4567 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4570 @kindex / * (Summary)
4571 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4572 Include all cached articles in the limit
4573 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4576 @kindex / d (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4578 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4579 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4582 @kindex / T (Summary)
4583 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4584 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4587 @kindex / c (Summary)
4588 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4589 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4590 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4593 @kindex / C (Summary)
4594 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4595 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4596 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4597 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4605 @cindex article threading
4607 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4608 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4609 hierarchical fashion.
4611 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4612 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4613 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4614 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4615 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4616 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4617 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4619 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4623 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4626 A tree-like article structure.
4629 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4632 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4633 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4634 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4635 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4636 called loose threads.
4638 @item thread gathering
4639 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4641 @item sparse threads
4642 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4643 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4649 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4650 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4654 @node Customizing Threading
4655 @subsection Customizing Threading
4656 @cindex customizing threading
4659 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4660 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4661 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4662 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4667 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4670 @cindex loose threads
4673 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4674 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4675 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4676 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4677 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4678 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4680 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
4681 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
4682 There are four possible values:
4686 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4687 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4688 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4689 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4690 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4695 @cindex adopting articles
4700 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4701 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4702 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4703 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4706 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4707 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4708 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4709 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4710 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4711 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4712 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4715 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4716 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4717 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4721 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4722 display them after one another.
4725 Don't gather loose threads.
4728 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4729 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4730 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4731 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
4732 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4733 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4734 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4735 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4736 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4737 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
4738 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4740 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4741 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
4742 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4745 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4746 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4747 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4748 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4749 simplification is used.
4751 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4752 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4753 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4754 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4756 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4758 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4764 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4765 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4766 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4767 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4772 (mapconcat 'identity
4773 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4775 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4778 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4781 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4782 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4783 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4784 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4785 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4786 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4788 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4791 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4792 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4793 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4795 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4796 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4799 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4800 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4801 Remove excessive whitespace.
4804 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4807 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4808 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4809 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4810 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4811 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4812 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4813 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4814 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4816 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4817 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4818 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4819 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4820 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4821 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4822 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4823 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4824 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4828 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4829 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4830 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4831 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4833 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4834 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4835 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4838 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4842 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4843 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4849 @node Filling In Threads
4850 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4853 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4854 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4855 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4856 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
4857 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
4858 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
4859 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
4860 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
4861 old headers only works if the backend you are using carries overview
4862 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4863 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4864 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
4866 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4867 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4868 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4870 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4871 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4872 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4873 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4874 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4875 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4876 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
4877 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4878 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
4879 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
4880 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4881 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
4882 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4883 @code{nil} by default.
4888 @node More Threading
4889 @subsubsection More Threading
4892 @item gnus-show-threads
4893 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4894 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4895 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4896 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4897 slower and more awkward.
4899 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4900 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4901 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4904 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4905 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4906 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4907 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4908 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4909 threads are expunged.
4911 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4912 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4913 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4916 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4917 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4918 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4919 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4920 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4923 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4924 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4925 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4931 @node Low-Level Threading
4932 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4936 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4937 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4938 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4939 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
4940 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
4941 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
4943 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4944 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4945 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4946 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4947 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4948 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4949 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4950 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4951 meaningful. Here's one example:
4954 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4956 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4957 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4959 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4961 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4968 @node Thread Commands
4969 @subsection Thread Commands
4970 @cindex thread commands
4976 @kindex T k (Summary)
4977 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4978 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4979 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4980 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4981 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4986 @kindex T l (Summary)
4987 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4988 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4989 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4990 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4993 @kindex T i (Summary)
4994 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4995 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4996 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4999 @kindex T # (Summary)
5000 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5001 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5002 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5005 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5006 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5007 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5008 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5011 @kindex T T (Summary)
5012 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5013 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5016 @kindex T s (Summary)
5017 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5018 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5019 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5022 @kindex T h (Summary)
5023 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5024 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5027 @kindex T S (Summary)
5028 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5029 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5032 @kindex T H (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5034 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5037 @kindex T t (Summary)
5038 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5039 Re-thread the current article's thread
5040 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5041 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5044 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5045 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5046 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5047 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5051 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5052 understand the numeric prefix.
5057 @kindex T n (Summary)
5058 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5059 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5062 @kindex T p (Summary)
5063 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5064 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5067 @kindex T d (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5069 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5072 @kindex T u (Summary)
5073 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5074 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5077 @kindex T o (Summary)
5078 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5079 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5082 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5083 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5084 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5085 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5086 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5087 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5088 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5089 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5090 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5091 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5092 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5093 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5100 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5101 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5102 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5103 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5104 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5105 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5106 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5107 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5108 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5109 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5110 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5111 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5112 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5113 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5115 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5116 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5117 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5118 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5119 in the list. You should probably always include
5120 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5121 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5122 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5123 ascending article order.
5125 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5126 number, you could do something like:
5129 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5130 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5131 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5132 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5135 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5136 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5137 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5138 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5139 which the articles arrived.
5141 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5145 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5147 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5148 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5151 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5152 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5153 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5154 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5157 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5158 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5159 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5160 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5161 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5162 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5163 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5164 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5165 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5166 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5167 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5168 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5169 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5171 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5175 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5176 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5177 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5182 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5183 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5184 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5185 @cindex article pre-fetch
5188 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5189 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5190 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5191 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5192 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5194 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5195 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
5197 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5198 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5199 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5200 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5201 connection is blocked.
5203 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5204 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5205 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5206 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
5208 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5209 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5210 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5211 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5214 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5217 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5218 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5219 happen automatically.
5221 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5222 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5223 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5224 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5225 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5226 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5227 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5229 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5230 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5231 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5232 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5233 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5234 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5235 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5236 data structure as the only parameter.
5238 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
5239 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5242 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5243 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5244 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5245 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5248 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5251 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5252 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much. It's
5253 probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5255 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5256 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5257 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5258 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5262 Remove articles when they are read.
5265 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5268 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5270 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5271 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5272 @c from the next group.
5275 @node Article Caching
5276 @section Article Caching
5277 @cindex article caching
5280 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5281 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5282 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5283 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5284 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5286 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5288 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5289 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5290 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5291 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5292 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5293 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5294 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5295 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5297 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5298 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5299 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5300 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5301 as dormant, and don't worry.
5303 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5305 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5306 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5307 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5308 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5309 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5310 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5311 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5312 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5313 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5314 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5316 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5317 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5318 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5319 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5320 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5321 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5322 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5323 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5324 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5325 not then be downloaded by this command.
5327 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5328 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5329 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5330 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5331 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5332 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5334 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5335 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5336 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5337 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5338 variables, the group is not cached.
5340 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5341 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5342 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5343 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5344 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5345 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
5346 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5347 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5348 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5352 @node Persistent Articles
5353 @section Persistent Articles
5354 @cindex persistent articles
5356 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5357 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5358 useful in my opinion.
5360 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5361 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5362 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5363 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5364 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5365 the expiry going on at the news server.
5367 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5368 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5369 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5375 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5376 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5379 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5380 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5381 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5382 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5386 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5388 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5389 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5390 interested in persistent articles:
5393 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5397 @node Article Backlog
5398 @section Article Backlog
5400 @cindex article backlog
5402 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5403 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5404 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
5405 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5406 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5407 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5408 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
5409 increase memory usage some.
5411 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5412 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
5413 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5414 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
5415 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5416 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5417 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5419 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5422 @node Saving Articles
5423 @section Saving Articles
5424 @cindex saving articles
5426 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5427 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5428 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5429 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5430 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5432 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5433 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
5434 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5436 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5437 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5438 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5439 deleted before saving.
5445 @kindex O o (Summary)
5447 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5448 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5449 Save the current article using the default article saver
5450 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5453 @kindex O m (Summary)
5454 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5455 Save the current article in mail format
5456 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5459 @kindex O r (Summary)
5460 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5461 Save the current article in rmail format
5462 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5465 @kindex O f (Summary)
5466 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5467 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5468 Save the current article in plain file format
5469 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5472 @kindex O F (Summary)
5473 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5474 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5475 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5478 @kindex O b (Summary)
5479 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5480 Save the current article body in plain file format
5481 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5484 @kindex O h (Summary)
5485 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5486 Save the current article in mh folder format
5487 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5490 @kindex O v (Summary)
5491 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5492 Save the current article in a VM folder
5493 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5496 @kindex O p (Summary)
5497 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5498 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5499 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5502 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5503 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5504 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5505 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5506 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5507 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5508 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5509 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5510 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5511 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5512 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5513 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5517 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5518 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5519 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5520 functions below, or you can create your own.
5524 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5525 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5526 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5527 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5528 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5529 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5530 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5532 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5533 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5534 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5535 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5536 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5537 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5539 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5540 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5541 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5542 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5543 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5544 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5545 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5547 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5548 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5549 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5550 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5551 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5553 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5554 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5555 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5556 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5557 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5560 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5561 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5562 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5563 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5564 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5566 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5567 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5568 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5569 reader to use this setting.
5572 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5573 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5574 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5575 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5578 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5579 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5580 available functions that generate names:
5584 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5585 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5586 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5588 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5589 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5590 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5592 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5593 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5594 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5596 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5597 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5598 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5601 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5602 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp
5603 into the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would
5604 like to save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and
5605 articles related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable
5609 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5610 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5611 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5612 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5615 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5616 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5617 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5618 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5619 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5620 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5621 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5622 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5623 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5625 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5626 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5627 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5628 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5630 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5631 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5632 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file name.
5634 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5635 lots of mail groups called things like
5636 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5637 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5638 following will do just that:
5641 (defun my-save-name (group)
5642 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5643 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5645 (setq gnus-split-methods
5646 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5651 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5652 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5653 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5654 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5655 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5656 all the files in the top level directory
5657 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5658 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5659 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5660 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5662 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5663 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5664 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5665 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5666 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5669 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5673 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5674 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5677 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5678 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5679 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5680 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5683 @node Decoding Articles
5684 @section Decoding Articles
5685 @cindex decoding articles
5687 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5688 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5691 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5692 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5693 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5694 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5695 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5696 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5700 @cindex article series
5701 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5702 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5703 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5704 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5705 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5707 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5708 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5709 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5711 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
5712 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5713 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5715 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5716 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5717 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5720 @node Uuencoded Articles
5721 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5723 @cindex uuencoded articles
5728 @kindex X u (Summary)
5729 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5730 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5731 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5734 @kindex X U (Summary)
5735 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5736 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5737 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5740 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5741 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5742 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5745 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5746 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5747 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5748 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5752 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5753 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5754 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5755 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5756 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5758 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5759 @sc{GNUS 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5760 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5761 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5764 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5765 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5766 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5767 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5768 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5769 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5773 @node Shell Archives
5774 @subsection Shell Archives
5776 @cindex shell archives
5777 @cindex shared articles
5779 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5780 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5781 some commands to deal with these:
5786 @kindex X s (Summary)
5787 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5788 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5791 @kindex X S (Summary)
5792 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5793 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5796 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5797 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5798 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5801 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5802 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5803 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5804 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5808 @node PostScript Files
5809 @subsection PostScript Files
5815 @kindex X p (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5817 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5820 @kindex X P (Summary)
5821 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5822 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5823 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5826 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5828 View the current PostScript series
5829 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5832 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5833 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5834 View and save the current PostScript series
5835 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5840 @subsection Other Files
5844 @kindex X o (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5846 Save the current series
5847 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5850 @kindex X b (Summary)
5851 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5852 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5853 doesn't really work yet.
5857 @node Decoding Variables
5858 @subsection Decoding Variables
5860 Adjective, not verb.
5863 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5864 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5865 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5869 @node Rule Variables
5870 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5871 @cindex rule variables
5873 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5874 variables are of the form
5877 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5884 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5885 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5887 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5888 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5891 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5892 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5895 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5896 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5897 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5898 user and default view rules.
5900 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5901 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5902 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5907 @node Other Decode Variables
5908 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5911 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5913 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5914 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5915 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5916 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5917 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5921 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5922 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5925 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5926 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5927 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5930 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5931 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5932 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5933 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5934 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5937 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5938 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5939 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5941 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5942 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5943 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5944 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5945 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5948 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5949 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5950 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5952 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5953 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5954 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5955 looking for files to display.
5957 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5958 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5959 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5962 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5963 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5964 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5967 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5968 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5969 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5972 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5973 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5974 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5977 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5978 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5979 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5980 decoded articles as unread.
5982 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5983 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5984 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5985 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5987 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5988 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5989 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
5991 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5992 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5994 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5995 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5996 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5997 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5999 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6000 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6001 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6002 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6003 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6004 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
6005 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6006 simply dropped them.
6011 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6012 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6016 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6017 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6018 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6019 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6020 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6021 for you when you post the article.
6023 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6024 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6025 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6026 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6028 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6029 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6030 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6031 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6032 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6033 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6034 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6036 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6037 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6038 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6039 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6040 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6041 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6042 Default is @code{t}.
6048 @subsection Viewing Files
6049 @cindex viewing files
6050 @cindex pseudo-articles
6052 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6053 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6054 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6055 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6056 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6057 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6058 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6060 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6061 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6062 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6063 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6065 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6066 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6067 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6069 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6070 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6071 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6072 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6073 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6075 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6076 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6077 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6078 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6079 a list of parameters to that command.
6081 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6082 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6083 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6085 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6086 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6087 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6090 @node Article Treatment
6091 @section Article Treatment
6093 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6094 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6095 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6096 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6097 these articles easier.
6100 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6101 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6102 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6103 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6104 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6105 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6106 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6110 @node Article Highlighting
6111 @subsection Article Highlighting
6112 @cindex highlighting
6114 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6115 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6120 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6121 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6122 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6123 Do much highlighting of the current article
6124 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6125 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6127 Most users would prefer using @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} in
6128 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}) instead.
6129 This is a bit less agressive---it highlights only the headers, the
6130 signature and adds buttons.
6133 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6134 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6135 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6136 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6137 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6138 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6139 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6140 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6141 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6142 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6143 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6146 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6148 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6150 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6153 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6155 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6156 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6157 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6159 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6160 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6161 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6163 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6164 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6165 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6167 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6168 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6169 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6170 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6171 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6172 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6174 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6175 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6176 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6178 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6179 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6180 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6182 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6183 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6184 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6185 that it's a citation.
6187 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6188 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6189 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6191 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6192 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6193 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6195 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6196 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6197 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6198 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6204 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6205 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6206 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6207 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6208 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6209 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6210 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6211 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6216 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to highlight articles automatically.
6219 @node Article Fontisizing
6220 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6222 @cindex article emphasis
6224 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6225 @kindex W e (Summary)
6226 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6227 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6228 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6229 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6231 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6232 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6233 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6234 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6235 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6236 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6237 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6238 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6242 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6243 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6244 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6247 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6248 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6249 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6250 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6251 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6252 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6253 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6254 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6255 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6256 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6257 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6258 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6259 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6261 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6262 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6263 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6267 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6270 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to fontize articles automatically.
6273 @node Article Hiding
6274 @subsection Article Hiding
6275 @cindex article hiding
6277 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6278 too much cruft in most articles.
6283 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6284 @findex gnus-article-hide
6285 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6286 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6287 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6290 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6291 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6292 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6296 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6297 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6298 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6299 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6302 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6303 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6304 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6308 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6309 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6310 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6311 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6312 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6313 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
6314 articles that have signatures in them do:
6316 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
6318 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp)
6320 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
6321 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
6323 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6326 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
6331 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6333 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6334 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6337 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6338 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6339 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6340 customizing the hiding:
6344 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6345 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6346 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6347 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6348 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6349 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6350 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6355 Starting point of the hidden text.
6357 Ending point of the hidden text.
6359 Number of characters in the hidden region.
6361 Number of lines of hidden text.
6364 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6365 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6366 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6371 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6372 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6374 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6375 following two variables:
6378 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6379 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6380 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6381 50), hide the cited text.
6383 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6384 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6385 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6390 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6391 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6392 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6393 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6394 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6395 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6399 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6400 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6401 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6403 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6404 citation customization.
6406 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to hide article elements
6410 @node Article Washing
6411 @subsection Article Washing
6413 @cindex article washing
6415 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6416 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6418 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6419 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6425 @kindex W l (Summary)
6426 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6427 Remove page breaks from the current article
6428 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6432 @kindex W r (Summary)
6433 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6434 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6435 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6436 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6437 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6438 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6440 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6441 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6442 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6443 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6446 @kindex W t (Summary)
6447 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6448 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6449 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6452 @kindex W v (Summary)
6453 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6454 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6455 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6458 @kindex W m (Summary)
6459 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6460 Toggle whether to display the article as @sc{mime} message
6461 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6464 @kindex W o (Summary)
6465 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6466 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6469 @kindex W d (Summary)
6470 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6471 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6474 @kindex W w (Summary)
6475 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6476 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6477 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6478 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6480 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6484 @kindex W c (Summary)
6485 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6486 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6487 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6490 @kindex W f (Summary)
6492 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6493 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6494 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6495 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6501 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6502 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6503 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6504 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6505 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6506 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6507 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6508 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6509 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6510 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6511 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6512 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6513 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6514 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6518 @kindex W b (Summary)
6519 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6520 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6521 @xref{Article Buttons}
6524 @kindex W B (Summary)
6525 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6526 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6527 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6530 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6531 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6532 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6533 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6536 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6537 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6538 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6539 lines with a single empty line.
6540 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6543 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6544 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6545 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6546 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6549 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6550 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6551 Do all the three commands above
6552 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6555 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6556 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6557 Remove all blank lines
6558 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6561 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6562 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6563 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6564 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6568 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to wash articles automatically.
6571 @node Article Buttons
6572 @subsection Article Buttons
6575 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6576 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6577 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6578 button on these references.
6580 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6581 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6582 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6587 @item gnus-button-alist
6588 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6589 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6592 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6598 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6599 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6600 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6603 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6604 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6605 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6608 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6609 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6610 avoid false matches.
6613 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6616 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6617 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6621 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6624 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6627 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6628 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6629 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6630 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6631 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6634 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6637 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6639 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6640 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6641 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6642 default values of the variables above.
6644 @item gnus-article-button-face
6645 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6646 Face used on buttons.
6648 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6649 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6650 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6654 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6658 @subsection Article Date
6660 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6661 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6662 when the article was sent.
6667 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6668 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6669 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6670 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6673 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6674 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6676 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6677 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6680 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6681 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6682 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6685 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6686 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6687 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6688 @findex format-time-string
6689 Display the date using a user-defined format
6690 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6691 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6692 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6693 for a list of possible format specs.
6696 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6697 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6698 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6699 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6700 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6701 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6702 updated continually, you can put
6705 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6708 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6709 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6713 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6715 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6716 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6717 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6718 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6719 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6723 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to display the date in your
6724 preferred format automatically.
6727 @node Article Signature
6728 @subsection Article Signature
6730 @cindex article signature
6732 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6733 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6734 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6735 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6736 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6737 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6738 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6739 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6740 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6743 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6744 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6745 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6746 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6747 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6748 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6749 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6750 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6753 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6756 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6757 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6762 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6765 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6768 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6769 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6771 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6772 in question is not a signature.
6775 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6776 listed above. Here's an example:
6779 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6780 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6783 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6784 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6785 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6786 signature after all.
6790 @section MIME Commands
6791 @cindex MIME decoding
6795 @kindex W M w (Summary)
6796 Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
6797 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
6800 @kindex W M c (Summary)
6801 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
6802 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
6804 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
6805 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
6806 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
6807 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
6808 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
6809 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
6814 @node Article Commands
6815 @section Article Commands
6822 @kindex A P (Summary)
6823 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6824 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6825 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6826 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6827 run just before printing the buffer.
6832 @node Summary Sorting
6833 @section Summary Sorting
6834 @cindex summary sorting
6836 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6837 can't really see why you'd want that.
6842 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6843 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6844 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6847 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6848 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6849 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6852 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6853 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6854 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6857 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6858 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6859 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6862 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6863 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6864 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6867 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6868 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6869 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6872 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6873 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6874 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6875 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6876 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6880 @node Finding the Parent
6881 @section Finding the Parent
6882 @cindex parent articles
6883 @cindex referring articles
6888 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6889 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6890 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6891 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6892 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6893 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6894 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6895 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6896 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6898 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6899 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6900 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
6901 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6902 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6906 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6907 @kindex A R (Summary)
6908 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6909 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6912 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6913 @kindex A T (Summary)
6914 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6915 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6916 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6917 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6918 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6919 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6920 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6922 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6923 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6924 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6925 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6926 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6927 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6930 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6931 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6933 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6934 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6935 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6936 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6937 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6938 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6939 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6942 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6943 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6944 by giving this command a prefix.
6946 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6947 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6948 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6949 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6950 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6951 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6954 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6955 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6956 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6957 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6958 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6959 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6962 @node Alternative Approaches
6963 @section Alternative Approaches
6965 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6966 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6969 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6970 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6975 @subsection Pick and Read
6976 @cindex pick and read
6978 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6979 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6980 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6981 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6983 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6984 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6985 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6986 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6987 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6988 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6990 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6995 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
6996 Pick the article or thread on the current line
6997 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
6998 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
6999 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
7000 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
7001 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
7002 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
7005 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
7006 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
7007 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
7008 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
7012 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
7013 Unpick the thread or article
7014 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7015 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
7016 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
7017 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
7018 the thread or article at that line.
7022 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
7023 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
7024 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
7025 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
7026 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
7027 will still be visible when you are reading.
7031 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
7032 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
7033 which is mapped to the same function
7034 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
7036 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
7039 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7042 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
7043 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
7045 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
7046 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
7047 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
7049 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
7050 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
7051 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
7052 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
7053 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
7054 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
7055 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
7059 @subsection Binary Groups
7060 @cindex binary groups
7062 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7063 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7064 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7065 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7066 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7067 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7068 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7071 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7072 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7073 command, when you have turned on this mode
7074 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7076 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7077 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7081 @section Tree Display
7084 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7085 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
7086 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7087 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7090 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7093 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7094 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7095 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7097 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7098 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7099 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7100 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7101 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7103 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7104 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7105 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7106 default is @code{modeline}.
7108 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7109 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7110 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7111 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7112 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7113 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7114 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7120 The name of the poster.
7122 The @code{From} header.
7124 The number of the article.
7126 The opening bracket.
7128 The closing bracket.
7133 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7135 Variables related to the display are:
7138 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7139 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7140 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7141 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7142 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7143 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7145 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7146 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7147 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7148 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7152 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7153 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7154 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
7155 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
7156 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7157 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7158 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7159 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7160 other windows displayed next to it.
7162 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7163 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7164 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7165 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7166 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7167 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7168 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7172 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7175 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7185 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7189 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7190 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7192 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7194 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7199 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7200 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7201 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7204 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7205 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7206 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7207 (gnus-add-configuration
7211 (summary 0.75 point)
7216 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7219 @node Mail Group Commands
7220 @section Mail Group Commands
7221 @cindex mail group commands
7223 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7224 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7226 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7227 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7232 @kindex B e (Summary)
7233 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7234 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7235 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7238 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7239 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7240 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7241 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7242 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7243 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7246 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7247 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7248 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7249 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7250 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7251 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7254 @kindex B m (Summary)
7256 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7257 Move the article from one mail group to another
7258 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7261 @kindex B c (Summary)
7263 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7264 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7265 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7266 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7269 @kindex B B (Summary)
7270 @cindex crosspost mail
7271 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7272 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7273 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7274 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7275 be properly updated.
7278 @kindex B i (Summary)
7279 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7280 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7281 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7282 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7285 @kindex B r (Summary)
7286 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7287 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7288 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7289 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7290 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7294 @kindex B w (Summary)
7296 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7297 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7298 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7299 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7300 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7301 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7304 @kindex B q (Summary)
7305 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7306 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7307 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7308 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7311 @kindex B t (Summary)
7312 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7313 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7314 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7317 @kindex B p (Summary)
7318 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7319 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7320 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7321 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7322 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7323 article from your news server (or rather, from
7324 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7325 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7326 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7327 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7328 just not have arrived yet.
7332 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7333 @cindex moving articles
7334 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
7335 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7336 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7337 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7338 suggestions you find reasonable.
7341 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7342 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7343 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7344 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7348 @node Various Summary Stuff
7349 @section Various Summary Stuff
7352 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7353 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7354 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7355 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7359 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7360 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7361 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7363 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7364 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7365 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7366 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7367 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7368 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7371 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7372 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7373 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7374 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7375 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7377 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7378 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7379 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
7382 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7383 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7384 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7385 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7386 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7387 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7388 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
7389 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7390 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7391 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7396 @node Summary Group Information
7397 @subsection Summary Group Information
7402 @kindex H f (Summary)
7403 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7404 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7405 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7406 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7407 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7408 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7409 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7410 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7411 be used for fetching the file.
7414 @kindex H d (Summary)
7415 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7416 Give a brief description of the current group
7417 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7418 rereading the description from the server.
7421 @kindex H h (Summary)
7422 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7423 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7424 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7427 @kindex H i (Summary)
7428 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7429 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7433 @node Searching for Articles
7434 @subsection Searching for Articles
7439 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7440 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7441 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7442 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7445 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7446 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7447 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7448 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7452 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7453 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7454 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7455 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7459 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7460 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7461 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7462 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7465 @node Summary Generation Commands
7466 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7471 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7472 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7473 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7476 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7477 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7478 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7479 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7484 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7485 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7490 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7491 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7492 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7493 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7494 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7495 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7496 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7497 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7498 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7502 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7503 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7504 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7505 several documents into one biiig group
7506 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7507 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7508 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7509 command understands the process/prefix convention
7510 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7513 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7514 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7515 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7516 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7517 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7518 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7522 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7523 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7524 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7527 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7528 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7529 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7530 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7535 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7536 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7537 @cindex summary exit
7538 @cindex exiting groups
7540 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7541 group and return you to the group buffer.
7547 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7549 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7550 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7551 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7552 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7553 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7554 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7555 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7556 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7557 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7558 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7559 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7563 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7565 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7566 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7567 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7571 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7573 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7574 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7575 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7576 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7579 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7580 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7581 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7582 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7585 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7586 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7587 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7588 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7591 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7592 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7593 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7594 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7595 all articles, both read and unread.
7599 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7600 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7601 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7602 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7603 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7604 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7605 articles, both read and unread.
7608 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7609 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7610 Exit the group and go to the next group
7611 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7614 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7615 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7616 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7617 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7620 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7621 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7622 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7623 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7624 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7625 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7628 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7629 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7632 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7633 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7634 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7635 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7636 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7637 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7638 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7639 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7640 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7641 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7642 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7643 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7645 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7647 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7648 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7649 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7650 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7651 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7652 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7653 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7654 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7655 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7658 @node Crosspost Handling
7659 @section Crosspost Handling
7663 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7664 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7665 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7666 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7667 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7668 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7671 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7672 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7673 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7674 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7675 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7677 @cindex cross-posting
7680 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7681 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7682 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7683 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7684 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7685 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7686 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7687 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7688 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7689 the cross reference mechanism.
7691 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7692 @cindex overview.fmt
7693 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7694 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7695 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7696 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7697 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7698 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7701 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7702 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7703 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7708 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7711 @node Duplicate Suppression
7712 @section Duplicate Suppression
7714 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7715 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7716 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7717 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various reasons.
7721 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7722 is evil and not very common.
7725 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7726 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7729 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7730 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7733 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7736 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7737 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7739 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7740 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7741 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7742 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7743 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7744 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7745 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7748 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7749 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7750 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7751 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7752 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7756 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7757 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7758 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7760 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7761 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7762 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7763 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7764 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
7765 session are suppressed.
7767 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7768 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7769 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7770 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7772 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7773 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7774 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7775 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7778 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
7779 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7780 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7781 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7782 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
7783 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7784 to you to figure out, I think.
7787 @node The Article Buffer
7788 @chapter The Article Buffer
7789 @cindex article buffer
7791 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7792 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7793 tell gnus otherwise.
7796 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7797 * Using MIME:: Pushing to mime articles as @sc{mime} messages.
7798 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7799 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7800 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7804 @node Hiding Headers
7805 @section Hiding Headers
7806 @cindex hiding headers
7807 @cindex deleting headers
7809 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7810 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7812 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7813 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7814 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7815 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7816 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7817 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7818 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7819 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7820 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7822 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7826 @item gnus-visible-headers
7827 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7828 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7829 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7830 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7832 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7833 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7836 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7839 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7842 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7843 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7844 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7845 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7846 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7847 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7849 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
7850 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
7853 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7856 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7859 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7860 variable will have no effect.
7864 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7865 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7866 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7867 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7868 the headers are to be displayed.
7870 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7871 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7874 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7877 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7878 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed
7881 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7882 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7883 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7884 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7885 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7886 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7887 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7888 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7889 @dfn{boring conditions} that gnus can check and remove from sight.
7891 These conditions are:
7894 Remove all empty headers.
7896 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7897 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7899 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7902 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7905 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7908 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7910 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7913 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
7916 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7917 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
7920 This is also the default value for this variable.
7924 @section Using @sc{mime}
7927 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7928 while people stand around yawning.
7930 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7931 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7933 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7934 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7935 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7937 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7938 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
7939 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7940 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
7941 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7942 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
7943 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
7944 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
7945 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
7946 existed yet, sorry).
7948 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7949 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7950 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7951 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7952 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7953 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7955 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
7956 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
7957 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
7958 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
7959 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
7960 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
7961 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
7962 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
7963 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
7966 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7968 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
7969 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
7970 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
7971 buffer when there are nobody else.
7974 @node Customizing Articles
7975 @section Customizing Articles
7976 @cindex article customization
7978 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7979 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7980 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7981 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7983 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7984 @findex gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers
7985 By default this hook just contains
7986 @code{gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers},
7987 @code{gnus-hide-boring-headers}, @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike},
7988 and @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} (and under XEmacs,
7989 @code{gnus-article-display-x-face}), but there are thousands, nay
7990 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7991 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7992 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7993 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7994 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7996 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7997 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7998 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7999 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
8000 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
8003 @node Article Keymap
8004 @section Article Keymap
8006 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
8007 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
8008 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
8009 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
8012 A few additional keystrokes are available:
8017 @kindex SPACE (Article)
8018 @findex gnus-article-next-page
8019 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
8022 @kindex DEL (Article)
8023 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
8024 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
8027 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
8028 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
8029 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
8030 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
8031 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
8034 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
8035 @findex gnus-article-mail
8036 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
8037 given a prefix, include the mail.
8041 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
8042 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
8043 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
8047 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
8048 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
8049 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
8052 @kindex TAB (Article)
8053 @findex gnus-article-next-button
8054 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
8055 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
8058 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
8059 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
8060 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8066 @section Misc Article
8070 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8071 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8072 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8073 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8076 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8077 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8078 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8079 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8080 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8081 the contents of the article buffer.
8083 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8084 @item gnus-article-display-hook
8085 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
8086 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
8087 hiding headers, and the like.
8089 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8090 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8091 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8093 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8094 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8095 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8096 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8098 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8099 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8100 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8101 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8102 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8107 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8108 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8112 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8114 @item gnus-break-pages
8115 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8116 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8117 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8118 paging will not be done.
8120 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8121 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8122 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8127 @node Composing Messages
8128 @chapter Composing Messages
8129 @cindex composing messages
8132 @cindex sending mail
8137 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8138 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8139 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8140 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8141 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8142 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8143 to make gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8146 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8147 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8148 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8149 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8150 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8151 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8152 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8153 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8156 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8157 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8163 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8166 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8167 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8168 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8169 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8171 @item gnus-add-to-list
8172 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8173 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8174 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8182 Variables for composing news articles:
8185 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8186 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8187 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8188 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8189 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8190 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8191 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8192 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8193 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want gnus to keep a history
8196 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8197 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8198 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8199 file. It is 1000 by default.
8204 @node Posting Server
8205 @section Posting Server
8207 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8208 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8210 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8212 @vindex gnus-post-method
8214 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
8215 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8216 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8217 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8218 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8221 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8224 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8225 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8226 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8227 the ``current'' server for posting.
8229 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8230 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8232 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8233 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8236 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8237 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8238 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8243 @section Mail and Post
8245 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8249 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8250 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8251 @cindex mailing lists
8253 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8254 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8255 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8256 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8257 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8258 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8259 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8260 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8261 still a pain, though.
8265 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8266 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8267 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8270 @findex ispell-message
8272 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8276 @node Archived Messages
8277 @section Archived Messages
8278 @cindex archived messages
8279 @cindex sent messages
8281 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8282 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8283 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8284 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8287 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8288 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
8289 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8293 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8294 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8295 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8296 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8299 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8300 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8301 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8302 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8305 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8306 '(nnfolder "archive"
8307 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8308 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8309 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8312 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8314 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8315 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8316 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8318 This variable can be used to do the following:
8322 Messages will be saved in that group.
8323 @item a list of strings
8324 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8325 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8326 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8328 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8333 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8335 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8338 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8340 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8343 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8345 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8346 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8347 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8348 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8353 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8354 '((if (message-news-p)
8359 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8360 messages in one file per month:
8363 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8364 '((if (message-news-p)
8366 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8367 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8370 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8371 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8373 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8374 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8375 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8376 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8377 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8378 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8379 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8380 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8381 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8382 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8384 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8385 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8386 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8387 this will disable archiving.
8390 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8391 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8392 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8393 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8394 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8397 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8398 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8399 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8402 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8403 but the latter is the preferred method.
8407 @node Posting Styles
8408 @section Posting Styles
8409 @cindex posting styles
8412 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8414 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8415 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8416 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8419 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8420 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8421 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8422 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8423 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8428 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8429 (organization "What me?"))
8431 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8432 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8433 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8436 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8437 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8438 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8439 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8440 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8441 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8442 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8443 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8445 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8446 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8447 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8448 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8449 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8450 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8453 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8454 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8455 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8456 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
8457 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8458 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8461 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8462 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8463 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8465 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
8466 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
8467 of the two dynamically bound variables @code{message-this-is-news} and
8468 @code{message-this-is-mail}.
8470 @vindex message-this-is-mail
8471 @vindex message-this-is-news
8473 So here's a new example:
8476 (setq gnus-posting-styles
8478 (signature-file "~/.signature")
8480 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8481 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
8483 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8484 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8485 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
8486 (message-this-is-news
8487 (signature my-news-signature))
8488 (posting-from-work-p
8489 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
8490 (address "user@@bar.foo")
8491 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
8492 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
8494 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
8502 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8503 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8504 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8505 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8506 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8508 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8509 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8510 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8511 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8512 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8516 @vindex nndraft-directory
8517 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8518 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8519 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8520 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8521 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8522 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8524 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8525 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8528 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8529 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8530 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8531 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8532 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8533 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8534 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8535 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8536 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8537 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8538 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8539 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8540 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8541 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8543 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8544 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8545 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8547 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8549 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8550 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8551 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8553 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8556 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8557 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8558 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8559 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8560 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8561 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8562 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8565 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8566 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8567 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8570 @node Rejected Articles
8571 @section Rejected Articles
8572 @cindex rejected articles
8574 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8575 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8576 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8577 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8579 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
8580 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8581 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8582 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
8583 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8585 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8586 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8587 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8590 @node Select Methods
8591 @chapter Select Methods
8592 @cindex foreign groups
8593 @cindex select methods
8595 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8596 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8597 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8598 personal mail group.
8600 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8601 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8602 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8603 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8604 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8605 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8607 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8608 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8610 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8613 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8614 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8615 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8616 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8617 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8619 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8622 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8623 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8624 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8625 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8626 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8627 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8631 @node The Server Buffer
8632 @section The Server Buffer
8634 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8635 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8636 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8637 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8638 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8639 backend represents a virtual server.
8641 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8642 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8643 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8644 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8646 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8647 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8648 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8649 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8650 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8651 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8652 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8654 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8655 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8658 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8659 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8660 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8661 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8662 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8663 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8664 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8667 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8668 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8671 @node Server Buffer Format
8672 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8673 @cindex server buffer format
8675 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8676 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8677 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8678 variable, with some simple extensions:
8683 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8686 The name of this server.
8689 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8692 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8695 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8696 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8697 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8698 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8708 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8711 @node Server Commands
8712 @subsection Server Commands
8713 @cindex server commands
8719 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8720 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8724 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8725 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8728 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8729 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8730 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8734 @findex gnus-server-exit
8735 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8739 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8740 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8744 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8745 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8749 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8750 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8754 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8755 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8759 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8760 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8761 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8766 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8767 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8768 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8769 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8774 @node Example Methods
8775 @subsection Example Methods
8777 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8780 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8783 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8789 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8790 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8793 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8794 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8796 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8797 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8801 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8804 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8805 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8807 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8808 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8809 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8813 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8816 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8819 Here's the method for a public spool:
8823 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8824 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8827 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8828 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8829 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8830 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8831 should probably look something like this:
8835 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8836 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8837 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8838 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8839 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8842 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8843 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8844 server that would look something like this:
8848 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8849 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8850 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8851 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8852 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8853 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8856 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8857 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8858 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8859 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8862 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8863 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8865 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8866 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8868 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8869 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8870 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8872 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8874 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8875 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8876 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8877 will contain the following:
8887 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8888 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8889 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8892 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8893 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8894 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8897 @node Server Variables
8898 @subsection Server Variables
8900 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8901 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8902 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8903 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8904 won't change the "derived" variables.
8906 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8907 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8908 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8909 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8910 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8911 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8912 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8913 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8914 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8918 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8919 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8920 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8924 @node Servers and Methods
8925 @subsection Servers and Methods
8927 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8928 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8929 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8930 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8934 @node Unavailable Servers
8935 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8937 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8938 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8939 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8940 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8941 actually the case or not.
8943 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8944 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8945 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8946 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8947 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8948 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8949 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8950 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8952 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8953 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8955 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8956 with the following commands:
8962 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8963 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8964 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8968 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8969 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8970 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8974 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8975 Mark the current server as unreachable
8976 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8979 @kindex M-o (Server)
8980 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8981 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8982 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8985 @kindex M-c (Server)
8986 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8987 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8988 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8992 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8993 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8994 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
9000 @section Getting News
9001 @cindex reading news
9002 @cindex news backends
9004 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
9005 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
9006 or it can read from a local spool.
9009 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
9010 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
9015 @subsection @sc{nntp}
9018 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
9019 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
9020 server as the, uhm, address.
9022 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
9023 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
9024 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
9025 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9027 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
9028 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
9029 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
9031 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
9036 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
9037 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
9038 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
9040 @cindex authentification
9041 @cindex nntp authentification
9042 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9043 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
9044 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
9045 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
9046 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
9047 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
9048 present in this hook.
9050 @item nntp-authinfo-function
9051 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
9052 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9053 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
9054 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
9055 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
9056 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
9057 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
9058 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
9059 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
9060 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
9061 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
9065 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
9068 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
9069 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
9070 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
9071 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
9072 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9077 Here's an example file:
9080 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9081 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9084 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9085 have to be first, for instance.
9087 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9088 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9089 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9090 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9091 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9092 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9093 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9095 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9096 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9102 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9103 previously mentioned.
9105 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9107 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9108 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9109 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9110 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9111 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9114 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9118 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9120 The default value is
9123 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9124 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9127 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9128 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9130 @item nntp-maximum-request
9131 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9132 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9133 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9134 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9135 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9136 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9137 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9139 @item nntp-connection-timeout
9140 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9141 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9142 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9143 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9144 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9145 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9146 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9147 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9148 no timeouts are done.
9150 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9151 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9152 @c @cindex PPP connections
9153 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9154 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9155 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9156 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9157 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9158 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9159 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9160 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9161 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9162 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9164 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9165 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9166 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9167 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9170 @item nntp-server-hook
9171 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9172 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9175 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9176 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9177 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9178 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9179 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9180 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9181 functions are supplied:
9184 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9185 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9188 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9189 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9190 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9193 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9197 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9198 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9199 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9200 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9202 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9203 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9204 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9206 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9207 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9208 User name on the remote system.
9212 @item nntp-open-telnet
9213 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9214 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9216 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9219 @item nntp-telnet-command
9220 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9221 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9223 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9224 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9225 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9227 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9228 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9229 User name for log in on the remote system.
9231 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9232 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9233 Password to use when logging in.
9235 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9236 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9237 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9240 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9241 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9242 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9243 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9245 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9246 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9247 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9248 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9249 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9253 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9254 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9255 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9256 you must have SSLay installed
9257 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9258 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9259 define a server as follows:
9262 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9264 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9266 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9267 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9268 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9269 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9274 @item nntp-end-of-line
9275 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9276 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9277 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9278 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9280 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9281 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9282 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9286 @vindex nntp-address
9287 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9289 @item nntp-port-number
9290 @vindex nntp-port-number
9291 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9294 @item nntp-buggy-select
9295 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9296 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9298 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9299 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9300 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9301 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9304 @item nntp-xover-commands
9305 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9308 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9309 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9313 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9314 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9315 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9316 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9317 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9318 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9319 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9320 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9321 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9322 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9323 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9325 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9326 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9327 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9329 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9330 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9331 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9332 server closes connection.
9334 @item nntp-record-commands
9335 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9336 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9337 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9338 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9339 that doesn't seem to work.
9345 @subsection News Spool
9349 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9350 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9351 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9354 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9355 anything else) as the address.
9357 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9358 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9359 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9360 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9364 @item nnspool-inews-program
9365 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9366 Program used to post an article.
9368 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9369 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9370 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9372 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9373 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9374 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9375 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9377 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9378 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9379 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9380 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9382 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9383 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9384 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9386 @item nnspool-active-file
9387 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9388 The path to the active file.
9390 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9391 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9392 The path to the group descriptions file.
9394 @item nnspool-history-file
9395 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9396 The path to the news history file.
9398 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9399 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9400 The path to the active date file.
9402 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9403 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9404 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9407 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9408 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9410 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9411 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9412 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9418 @section Getting Mail
9419 @cindex reading mail
9422 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9426 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9427 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9428 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9429 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9430 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9431 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9432 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9433 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9434 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9435 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9436 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9440 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9441 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9443 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9444 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9445 and things will happen automatically.
9447 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9448 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9451 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9452 '((nnml "private")))
9455 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9456 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9457 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9458 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9459 like any other group.
9461 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9464 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9465 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9466 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9470 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9471 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9472 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9475 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9476 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9477 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9480 @node Splitting Mail
9481 @subsection Splitting Mail
9482 @cindex splitting mail
9483 @cindex mail splitting
9485 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9486 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9487 to be split into groups.
9490 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9491 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9492 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9496 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9497 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9498 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9499 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9500 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9501 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9502 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9505 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9508 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9509 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9510 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9511 mail belongs in that group.
9513 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9514 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9515 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9516 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9517 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9518 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9520 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9521 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9522 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9523 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9524 thinks should carry this mail message.
9526 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9527 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9528 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9529 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9531 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9532 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9533 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9534 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9535 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9537 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9540 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9541 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9542 links. If that's the case for you, set
9543 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9544 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9546 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9547 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9548 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9549 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9551 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9552 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9553 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9554 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9555 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9556 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9557 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9558 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9562 @node Mail Backend Variables
9563 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9565 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9569 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9570 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9571 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9572 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9574 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9575 @item nnmail-spool-file
9579 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9580 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9581 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9582 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9583 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9584 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9585 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9586 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9587 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9588 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9589 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9590 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9591 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9592 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9593 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9595 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9597 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9598 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9601 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9602 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9603 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9604 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9605 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9606 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9608 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9609 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9610 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9611 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9612 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9613 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9614 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9617 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9618 @item nnmail-crash-box
9619 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9620 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9621 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9624 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9625 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9626 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9627 used for, well, anything, really.
9629 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9630 @item nnmail-split-hook
9631 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9632 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9633 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9634 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9635 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9636 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9637 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9638 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9640 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9641 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9642 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9643 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9644 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9645 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9646 starting to handle the new mail) and
9647 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9648 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9649 default file modes the new mail files get:
9652 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9653 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9655 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9656 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9659 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9660 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9661 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9662 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9663 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9664 it will be used instead.
9666 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9667 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9668 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9669 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9671 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9672 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9675 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9676 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9677 @cindex incoming mail files
9678 @cindex deleting incoming files
9679 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9680 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9683 @c This is @code{nil} by
9684 @c default for reasons of security.
9686 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9687 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9688 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9689 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9690 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9693 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9695 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9696 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9697 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9698 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9699 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9700 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9701 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9703 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9704 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9706 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9708 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9709 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9710 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9711 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9712 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9717 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9718 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9719 @cindex mail splitting
9720 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9722 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9723 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9724 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9725 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9726 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9727 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9729 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9732 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9733 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9734 ;; from real errors.
9735 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9737 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9738 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9739 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9740 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9741 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9742 ;; Other mailing lists...
9743 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9744 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9746 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9747 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9751 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9752 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9753 the five possible split syntaxes:
9758 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9759 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9763 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9764 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9765 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9768 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9769 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9770 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9771 be stored in one or more groups.
9774 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9775 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9778 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9779 this message. Use with extreme caution.
9782 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9783 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9784 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9788 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
9792 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9793 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9794 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9795 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9796 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9798 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9799 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9800 are expanded as specified by the variable
9801 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9802 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9805 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9806 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9807 when all this splitting is performed.
9809 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9810 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9811 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9814 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9817 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
9818 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
9819 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
9820 groupings 1 through 9.
9823 @node Mail and Procmail
9824 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9829 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9830 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9831 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9832 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9833 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9835 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9836 something like the following:
9838 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9840 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9841 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9842 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9845 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9846 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9849 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9850 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9851 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9852 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9853 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9854 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9856 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9859 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9861 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9862 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9864 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9865 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9866 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9867 to include all your mail groups.
9869 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9870 method will be created automatically.
9872 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9873 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9874 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9875 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9876 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9877 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9878 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9879 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9881 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9882 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9883 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9884 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9885 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9887 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9888 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9889 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9890 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9891 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9892 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9894 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9895 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9896 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9897 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9898 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9901 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9902 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9903 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9904 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9905 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9909 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9910 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9912 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9913 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9914 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9917 Doing so can be quite easy.
9919 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9920 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9921 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9922 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9923 your @code{nnml} groups.
9929 Go to the group buffer.
9932 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9933 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9936 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9939 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9940 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9943 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9944 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9947 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9948 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9949 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9950 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9951 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9953 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9954 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9955 using the new mail backend.
9959 @subsection Expiring Mail
9960 @cindex article expiry
9962 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9963 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9964 different approach to mail reading.
9966 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9967 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9968 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9969 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9970 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9971 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9974 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9975 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9976 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9977 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9978 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9979 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9980 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9981 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9983 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9984 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9985 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9986 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9987 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9988 column in the summary buffer.
9990 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9991 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9992 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9993 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9996 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9998 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9999 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
10000 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
10003 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
10004 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
10005 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
10006 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
10007 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
10009 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
10010 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
10013 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10014 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
10017 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
10018 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
10020 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
10021 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
10022 don't really mix very well.
10024 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
10025 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
10026 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
10027 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
10030 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
10031 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
10032 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
10033 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
10036 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10038 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10040 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
10042 ((string= group "mail.junk")
10044 ((string= group "important")
10050 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
10051 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
10053 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
10054 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
10055 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
10058 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
10059 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10061 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10062 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
10063 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
10064 easier for procmail users.
10066 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
10067 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
10068 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
10069 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
10070 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
10071 caution. Even more dangerous is the
10072 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
10073 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
10074 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
10075 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
10076 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
10077 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
10078 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
10081 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
10085 @subsection Washing Mail
10086 @cindex mail washing
10087 @cindex list server brain damage
10088 @cindex incoming mail treatment
10090 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
10091 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
10092 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10093 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10094 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10095 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10097 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10098 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10099 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10102 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10103 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10104 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10105 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10108 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10109 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10110 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10111 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
10114 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10115 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10116 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10117 Emacs running on MS machines.
10121 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10122 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10123 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10124 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10127 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10128 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10129 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10130 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10132 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10133 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10134 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10135 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10136 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10137 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10138 also be a list of regexp.
10140 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10141 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10144 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10145 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10148 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10149 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10150 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10154 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10155 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10156 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10160 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10161 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10162 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10169 @subsection Duplicates
10171 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10172 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10173 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10174 @cindex duplicate mails
10175 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10176 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10177 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10178 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10179 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10180 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10181 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10182 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10183 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10184 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10185 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10186 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10187 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10189 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10190 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10191 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10192 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10194 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10197 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10198 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10202 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10203 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10204 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10205 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10206 (any mail "mail.misc")
10213 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10214 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10219 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10220 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10221 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10222 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10223 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10226 @node Not Reading Mail
10227 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10229 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10230 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10231 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10233 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10234 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10236 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10237 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10238 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10239 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10240 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10241 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10242 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10243 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10244 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10245 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10246 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10248 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10249 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10253 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10254 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10256 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10257 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10258 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10261 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10262 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10263 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10264 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10265 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10269 @node Unix Mail Box
10270 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10272 @cindex unix mail box
10274 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10275 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10276 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10277 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10278 which group it belongs in.
10280 Virtual server settings:
10283 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10284 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10285 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10287 @item nnmbox-active-file
10288 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10289 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10291 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10292 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10293 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10299 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10303 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10304 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10305 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10306 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10307 article to say which group it belongs in.
10309 Virtual server settings:
10312 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10313 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10314 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10316 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10317 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10318 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10320 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10321 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10322 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10327 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10329 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10331 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10332 format. It should be used with some caution.
10334 @vindex nnml-directory
10335 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10336 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10337 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10338 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10340 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10343 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10344 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10345 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10346 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10347 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10348 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10349 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10350 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10352 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10353 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10354 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10355 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10357 Virtual server settings:
10360 @item nnml-directory
10361 @vindex nnml-directory
10362 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10364 @item nnml-active-file
10365 @vindex nnml-active-file
10366 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10368 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10369 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10370 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10373 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10374 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10375 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10377 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10378 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10379 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10381 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10382 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10383 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10385 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10386 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10387 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10391 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10392 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10393 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10394 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10395 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10396 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10397 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10402 @subsubsection MH Spool
10404 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10406 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10407 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10408 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10409 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10411 Virtual server settings:
10414 @item nnmh-directory
10415 @vindex nnmh-directory
10416 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10418 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10419 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10420 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10423 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10424 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10425 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10426 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10427 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10428 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10429 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10434 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10436 @cindex mbox folders
10437 @cindex mail folders
10439 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10440 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10441 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10444 Virtual server settings:
10447 @item nnfolder-directory
10448 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10449 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10451 @item nnfolder-active-file
10452 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10453 The name of the active file.
10455 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10456 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10457 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10459 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10460 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10461 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10463 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10464 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10465 @cindex backup files
10466 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
10467 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
10468 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
10469 your @file{.emacs} file:
10472 (defun turn-off-backup ()
10473 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
10475 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
10478 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10479 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10480 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
10481 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
10482 extract some information from it before removing it.
10487 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10488 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10489 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10490 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10491 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10492 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10495 @node Other Sources
10496 @section Other Sources
10498 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10499 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10503 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10504 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10505 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10506 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10507 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10508 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10512 @node Directory Groups
10513 @subsection Directory Groups
10515 @cindex directory groups
10517 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10518 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10521 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10522 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10523 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10524 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10526 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10527 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10528 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10529 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10530 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10532 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10534 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10535 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10536 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10537 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10540 @node Anything Groups
10541 @subsection Anything Groups
10544 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10545 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10546 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10549 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10550 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10551 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10552 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10553 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10554 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10555 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10556 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10557 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10558 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10561 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10562 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10563 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10564 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10566 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10567 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10568 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10569 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10571 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10572 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10573 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10574 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10575 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10576 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10577 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10578 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10583 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10584 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10585 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10586 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10588 @item nneething-exclude-files
10589 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10590 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10591 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10593 @item nneething-map-file
10594 @vindex nneething-map-file
10595 Name of the map files.
10599 @node Document Groups
10600 @subsection Document Groups
10602 @cindex documentation group
10605 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10606 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10613 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10618 The standard Unix mbox file.
10620 @cindex MMDF mail box
10622 The MMDF mail box format.
10625 Several news articles appended into a file.
10628 @cindex rnews batch files
10629 The rnews batch transport format.
10630 @cindex forwarded messages
10633 Forwarded articles.
10636 MIME multipart messages, besides digests.
10640 @cindex MIME digest
10641 @cindex 1153 digest
10642 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10643 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10644 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10646 @item standard-digest
10647 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10650 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10653 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10654 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10655 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10658 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10659 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10660 group. And that's it.
10662 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10663 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10664 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10665 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10666 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10667 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10668 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10669 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10670 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10671 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10673 Virtual server variables:
10676 @item nndoc-article-type
10677 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10678 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10679 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10680 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{mime-digest},
10681 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or
10684 @item nndoc-post-type
10685 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10686 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10687 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10692 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10696 @node Document Server Internals
10697 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10699 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10700 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10701 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10702 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10704 First, here's an example document type definition:
10708 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10709 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10712 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10713 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10714 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10715 types can be defined with very few settings:
10718 @item first-article
10719 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10720 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10723 @item article-begin
10724 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10725 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10727 @item head-begin-function
10728 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10731 @item nndoc-head-begin
10732 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10735 @item nndoc-head-end
10736 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10737 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10739 @item body-begin-function
10740 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10744 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10747 @item body-end-function
10748 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10752 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10755 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10756 regexp will be totally ignored.
10760 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10761 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10762 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10763 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10764 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10767 @item prepare-body-function
10768 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10769 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10770 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10772 @item article-transform-function
10773 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10774 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10775 body of the article.
10777 @item generate-head-function
10778 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10779 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10780 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10781 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10785 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10790 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10791 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10792 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10793 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10794 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10795 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10796 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10797 (subtype digest guess))
10800 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10801 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10802 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10803 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10804 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10806 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10807 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10808 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10809 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10810 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
10811 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10812 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10813 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10814 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10815 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10823 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10824 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10825 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10827 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10828 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10829 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10832 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10833 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10834 that interested in doing things properly.
10836 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10837 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10840 First some terminology:
10845 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10846 get news and/or mail from.
10849 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10850 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10853 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10857 @item message packets
10858 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10859 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10860 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10862 @item response packets
10863 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10864 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10865 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10875 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10876 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10877 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10878 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10881 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10884 You put the packet in your home directory.
10887 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10888 the native or secondary server.
10891 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10892 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10895 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10899 You transfer this packet to the server.
10902 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10905 You then repeat until you die.
10909 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10910 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10913 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10914 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10915 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10919 @node SOUP Commands
10920 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10922 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10926 @kindex G s b (Group)
10927 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10928 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10929 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10930 process/prefix convention.
10933 @kindex G s w (Group)
10934 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10935 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10938 @kindex G s s (Group)
10939 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10940 Send all replies from the replies packet
10941 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10944 @kindex G s p (Group)
10945 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10946 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10949 @kindex G s r (Group)
10950 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10951 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10954 @kindex O s (Summary)
10955 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10956 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10957 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10958 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10963 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10968 @item gnus-soup-directory
10969 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10970 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10971 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10973 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10974 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10975 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10976 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10978 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10979 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10980 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10981 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10983 @item gnus-soup-packer
10984 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10985 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10986 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10988 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10989 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10990 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10991 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10993 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10994 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10995 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10997 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10998 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10999 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
11000 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
11006 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
11009 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
11010 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
11011 you can read them at leisure.
11013 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
11017 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
11018 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
11019 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
11020 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
11022 @item nnsoup-directory
11023 @vindex nnsoup-directory
11024 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
11025 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
11027 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
11028 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
11029 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
11030 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
11032 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
11033 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
11034 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
11035 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
11036 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
11038 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
11039 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
11040 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
11041 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
11043 @item nnsoup-active-file
11044 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
11045 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
11046 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
11047 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
11048 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
11050 @item nnsoup-packer
11051 @vindex nnsoup-packer
11052 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
11053 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
11055 @item nnsoup-unpacker
11056 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
11057 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
11058 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11060 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
11061 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
11062 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
11065 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
11066 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
11067 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
11070 @item nnsoup-always-save
11071 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
11072 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
11078 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
11080 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
11081 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
11082 more for that to happen.
11084 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
11085 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
11086 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
11089 In specific, this is what it does:
11092 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
11093 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
11096 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
11097 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
11098 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
11102 @subsection Web Searches
11106 @cindex InReference
11107 @cindex Usenet searches
11108 @cindex searching the Usenet
11110 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
11111 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
11112 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
11113 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
11114 searches without having to use a browser.
11116 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11117 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11118 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11119 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11120 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11122 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11123 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11124 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11125 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11126 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11127 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11128 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11129 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11130 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11131 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11134 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11135 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11136 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'
\e,Aj
\e(Btre} is to
11137 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11138 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11139 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11141 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11142 to use @code{nnweb}.
11144 Virtual server variables:
11149 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11150 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11154 @vindex nnweb-search
11155 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11157 @item nnweb-max-hits
11158 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11159 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11162 @item nnweb-type-definition
11163 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11164 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11165 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11170 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11174 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11177 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11180 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11184 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11191 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11192 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11193 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11196 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11197 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11198 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11200 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11206 @item nngateway-address
11207 @vindex nngateway-address
11208 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11210 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11211 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11212 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11213 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11214 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11215 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11216 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11219 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11220 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11221 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11224 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11227 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11230 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11233 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11235 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11238 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11239 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11240 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11242 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11244 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11245 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11246 @code{nngateway-address}.
11251 (setq gnus-post-method
11252 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11253 (nngateway-header-transformation
11254 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11262 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11265 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11269 @node Combined Groups
11270 @section Combined Groups
11272 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11276 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11277 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11281 @node Virtual Groups
11282 @subsection Virtual Groups
11284 @cindex virtual groups
11285 @cindex merging groups
11287 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11290 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11291 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11292 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11294 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11295 regexp to match component groups.
11297 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11298 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11299 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11300 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11301 the virtual group.)
11303 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11304 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11307 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11310 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11311 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11313 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11314 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11315 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11316 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11319 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11322 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11323 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11324 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11326 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11327 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11328 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11329 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11330 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11332 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11333 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11334 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11336 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11337 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11338 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11339 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11340 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11341 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11342 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11343 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11344 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11345 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11346 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11348 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
11349 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
11350 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
11351 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
11352 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
11353 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
11354 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
11356 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
11357 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
11361 @node Kibozed Groups
11362 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11366 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11367 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11368 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11369 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11371 @kindex G k (Group)
11372 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11375 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11376 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11377 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11378 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11380 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11381 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11382 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11384 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11385 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11386 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11387 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11388 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11389 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11390 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11391 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11393 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11394 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11395 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11396 Stranger things have happened.
11398 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11399 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11401 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11402 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11403 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11404 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11405 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11406 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11408 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11409 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11412 @node Gnus Unplugged
11413 @section Gnus Unplugged
11418 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11420 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11421 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11422 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11423 read news. Believe it or not.
11425 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11426 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11427 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11428 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11429 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11431 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11432 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11433 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11434 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11435 reading news on a machine.
11437 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11441 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11442 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11446 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11447 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11454 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11456 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11459 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11460 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11461 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11462 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11463 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11464 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11465 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11466 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11471 @subsection Agent Basics
11473 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11475 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11476 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11477 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11478 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11480 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11481 connected to the net continuously.
11483 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11484 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11486 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11491 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11492 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11493 already fetched while in this mode.
11496 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11497 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11498 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11501 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11502 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11503 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11504 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11507 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11508 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11509 then you read the news offline.
11512 And then you go to step 2.
11515 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11521 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11522 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11523 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11524 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11525 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11526 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11529 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11536 @node Agent Categories
11537 @subsection Agent Categories
11539 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11540 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11541 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11542 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11543 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11544 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11545 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11547 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11548 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11549 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11552 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11553 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11554 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11558 @node Category Syntax
11559 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11561 A category consists of two things.
11565 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11566 are eligible for downloading; and
11569 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11570 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11571 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
11574 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
11575 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
11576 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
11577 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
11579 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
11580 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
11581 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
11583 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
11584 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
11585 operators sprinkled in between.
11587 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11589 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11590 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11596 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11597 short (for some value of ``short'').
11599 Here's a more complex predicate:
11608 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11609 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11612 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11613 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11614 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11616 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11617 you want to do, you can write your own.
11621 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11622 lines; default 100.
11625 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11626 lines; default 200.
11629 True iff the article has a download score less than
11630 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11633 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11634 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11637 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11638 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11639 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11648 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11649 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11650 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11653 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
11654 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
11655 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
11656 something along the lines of the following:
11659 (defun my-article-old-p ()
11660 "Say whether an article is old."
11661 (< (time-to-day (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
11662 (- (time-to-day (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
11665 with the predicate then defined as:
11668 (not my-article-old-p)
11671 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
11672 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
11673 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
11674 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
11677 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
11678 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
11679 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
11682 and simply specify your predicate as:
11688 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
11689 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
11690 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
11691 just don't give a damm.
11694 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
11695 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
11696 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
11697 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
11698 parameters like so:
11701 (agent-predicate . short)
11704 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category
11705 default. Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this,
11706 the @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair
11709 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
11712 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
11715 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
11716 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
11717 predicate is assumed to be a list.
11720 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11721 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11722 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11723 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
11724 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
11725 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
11727 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
11728 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
11729 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
11730 if it's to be specific to that group.
11732 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
11740 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
11741 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
11747 Category specification
11751 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11757 Group Parameter specification
11760 (agent-score ("from"
11761 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11766 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
11772 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
11779 Category specification
11782 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
11788 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
11792 Group Parameter specification
11795 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
11798 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
11803 Use @code{normal} score files
11805 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
11806 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
11807 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
11808 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
11810 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
11811 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
11812 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
11813 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
11817 Category Specification
11824 Group Parameter specification
11827 (agent-score . file)
11833 @node The Category Buffer
11834 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11836 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11837 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11838 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11840 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11844 @kindex q (Category)
11845 @findex gnus-category-exit
11846 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11849 @kindex k (Category)
11850 @findex gnus-category-kill
11851 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11854 @kindex c (Category)
11855 @findex gnus-category-copy
11856 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11859 @kindex a (Category)
11860 @findex gnus-category-add
11861 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11864 @kindex p (Category)
11865 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11866 Edit the predicate of the current category
11867 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11870 @kindex g (Category)
11871 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11872 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11873 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11876 @kindex s (Category)
11877 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11878 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11879 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11882 @kindex l (Category)
11883 @findex gnus-category-list
11884 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11888 @node Category Variables
11889 @subsubsection Category Variables
11892 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11893 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11894 Hook run in category buffers.
11896 @item gnus-category-line-format
11897 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11898 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11899 Variables}). Valid elements are:
11903 The name of the category.
11906 The number of groups in the category.
11909 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11910 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11911 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
11913 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11914 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11915 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11917 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11918 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11919 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11921 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11922 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11923 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11926 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11927 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11928 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11934 @node Agent Commands
11935 @subsection Agent Commands
11937 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11938 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11939 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11943 * Group Agent Commands::
11944 * Summary Agent Commands::
11945 * Server Agent Commands::
11948 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11949 following incantation:
11951 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11953 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11958 @node Group Agent Commands
11959 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11963 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11964 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
11965 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11966 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
11969 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11970 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11971 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11974 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11975 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11976 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11977 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11980 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11981 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11982 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11983 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11986 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11987 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11988 Add the current group to an Agent category
11989 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11994 @node Summary Agent Commands
11995 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11999 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
12000 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
12001 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
12004 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
12005 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
12006 Remove the downloading mark from the article
12007 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
12010 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
12011 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
12012 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
12015 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
12016 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
12017 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
12022 @node Server Agent Commands
12023 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
12027 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
12028 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
12029 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
12030 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
12033 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
12034 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
12035 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
12036 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
12042 @subsection Agent Expiry
12044 @vindex gnus-agent-expiry-days
12045 @findex gnus-agent-expiry
12046 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expiry
12047 @cindex Agent expiry
12048 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
12051 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
12052 @code{gnus-agent-expiry} command that will expire all read articles that
12053 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expiry-days} days. It can be run
12054 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
12055 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
12056 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
12058 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
12059 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
12060 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
12061 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
12062 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
12065 @node Outgoing Messages
12066 @subsection Outgoing Messages
12068 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
12069 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
12070 after posting, and edit them at will.
12072 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
12073 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
12074 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
12075 messages in the draft group.
12079 @node Agent Variables
12080 @subsection Agent Variables
12083 @item gnus-agent-directory
12084 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
12085 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
12086 @file{~/News/agent/}.
12088 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
12089 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
12090 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
12091 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
12092 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
12095 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12096 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12097 Hook run when connecting to the network.
12099 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12100 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12101 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
12106 @node Example Setup
12107 @subsection Example Setup
12109 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
12110 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
12111 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
12114 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
12115 ;;; from your ISP's server.
12116 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
12118 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
12119 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
12120 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
12121 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
12123 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
12124 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12126 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
12130 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
12131 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
12134 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
12135 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
12136 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
12137 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
12138 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
12141 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
12142 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
12143 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
12144 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
12145 back all the killed groups.)
12147 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
12148 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
12149 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
12152 @node Batching Agents
12153 @subsection Batching Agents
12155 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
12156 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
12157 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
12161 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
12170 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
12171 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
12172 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
12175 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
12176 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
12177 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
12178 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
12179 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
12181 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
12182 before generating the summary buffer.
12184 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
12185 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
12186 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
12188 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
12189 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
12190 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
12191 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
12194 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
12195 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
12196 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
12197 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
12198 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
12199 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
12200 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
12201 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
12202 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
12203 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
12204 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
12205 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
12206 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
12207 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
12208 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
12209 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
12213 @node Summary Score Commands
12214 @section Summary Score Commands
12215 @cindex score commands
12217 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
12218 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
12219 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
12220 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
12221 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
12223 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
12224 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
12225 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
12226 score file the current one.
12228 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
12233 @kindex V s (Summary)
12234 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
12235 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
12238 @kindex V S (Summary)
12239 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
12240 Display the score of the current article
12241 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
12244 @kindex V t (Summary)
12245 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
12246 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
12247 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
12250 @kindex V R (Summary)
12251 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
12252 Run the current summary through the scoring process
12253 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
12254 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
12255 effect you're having.
12258 @kindex V c (Summary)
12259 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
12260 Make a different score file the current
12261 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
12264 @kindex V e (Summary)
12265 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
12266 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
12267 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
12271 @kindex V f (Summary)
12272 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
12273 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
12274 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
12277 @kindex V F (Summary)
12278 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12279 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
12280 after editing score files.
12283 @kindex V C (Summary)
12284 @findex gnus-score-customize
12285 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
12286 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
12290 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
12295 @kindex V m (Summary)
12296 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
12297 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
12298 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
12301 @kindex V x (Summary)
12302 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
12303 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
12304 expunge all articles below this score
12305 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
12308 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
12309 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
12312 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
12313 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
12317 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
12318 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
12320 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
12321 keys are available:
12325 Score on the author name.
12328 Score on the subject line.
12331 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
12334 Score on the References line.
12340 Score on the number of lines.
12343 Score on the Message-ID.
12346 Score on followups.
12360 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12361 what headers you are scoring on.
12373 Substring matching.
12376 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12405 Greater than number.
12410 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12411 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12412 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12416 Temporary score entry.
12419 Permanent score entry.
12422 Immediately scoring.
12427 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12428 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12429 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12430 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12432 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12433 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12434 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12435 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12436 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12438 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12439 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12440 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12441 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12442 current score file.
12444 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12445 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12446 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12449 @node Group Score Commands
12450 @section Group Score Commands
12451 @cindex group score commands
12453 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12458 @kindex W f (Group)
12459 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12460 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12461 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12462 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12466 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12468 @findex gnus-batch-score
12469 @cindex batch scoring
12471 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
12475 @node Score Variables
12476 @section Score Variables
12477 @cindex score variables
12481 @item gnus-use-scoring
12482 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12483 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12484 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12486 @item gnus-kill-killed
12487 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12488 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12489 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12490 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12491 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12492 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12493 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12495 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12496 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12497 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12498 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12499 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12501 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12502 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12503 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12504 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12506 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12507 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12508 @cindex score cache
12509 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12510 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12511 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
12512 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12513 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12514 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12517 @item gnus-save-score
12518 @vindex gnus-save-score
12519 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12520 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12521 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12523 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12524 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12525 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12526 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12527 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12528 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12529 manually entered data.
12531 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12532 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12533 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12535 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12536 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12537 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12538 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12539 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12540 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12542 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12543 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12544 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12545 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12547 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12548 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12549 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12550 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12552 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12553 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12554 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12555 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12557 Predefined functions available are:
12560 @item gnus-score-find-single
12561 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12562 Only apply the group's own score file.
12564 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12565 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12566 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12567 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12568 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12569 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12570 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12571 then a regexp match is done.
12573 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12574 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12576 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12577 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12578 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12579 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12581 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12582 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12583 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12584 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12585 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12588 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12589 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12590 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12591 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12592 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12593 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12596 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12597 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12598 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12599 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12600 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12602 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12603 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12604 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12605 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12606 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12607 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12608 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12611 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12612 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12613 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12615 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12616 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12617 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12618 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12619 threading---according to the current value of
12620 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12621 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12622 simplified in this manner.
12627 @node Score File Format
12628 @section Score File Format
12629 @cindex score file format
12631 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12632 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12633 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12635 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12639 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12641 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12643 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12645 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12650 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12654 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12655 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12656 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12657 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12661 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12662 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12664 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12665 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12666 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12668 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12673 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12674 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12675 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12676 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12677 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12678 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12679 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12680 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12681 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12682 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12683 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12684 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12685 to articles that matches these score entries.
12687 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12688 score entry has one to four elements.
12692 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12693 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12697 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12698 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12699 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12700 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12701 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12702 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12705 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12706 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12707 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12708 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12709 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12712 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12713 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12714 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12715 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12718 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12719 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12720 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12721 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12722 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12723 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12724 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12725 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12726 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12727 instead, if you feel like.
12730 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12731 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12733 These predicates are true if
12736 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12739 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12740 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12747 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12748 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12749 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12750 it's not. I think.)
12752 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12753 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12754 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12755 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12758 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12759 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12760 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12761 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12762 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12763 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12764 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12768 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12769 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12770 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12771 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12772 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12773 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12774 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12775 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12778 @item Head, Body, All
12779 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12783 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12784 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12785 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12786 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12787 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12788 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12789 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12793 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12794 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
12795 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12796 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12797 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12798 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12799 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12800 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12801 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12802 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12806 @cindex Score File Atoms
12808 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12809 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12812 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12813 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12815 @item mark-and-expunge
12816 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12817 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12820 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12821 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12822 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12823 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12824 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12827 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12828 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12831 @item exclude-files
12832 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12833 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12837 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12838 ignored when handling global score files.
12841 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12842 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12843 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12844 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
12847 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12848 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12849 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12850 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12852 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12856 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12859 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12860 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12861 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12862 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12863 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12865 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12866 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12867 ordinary scoring rules.
12870 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12871 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12872 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12873 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12874 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12875 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12876 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12877 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12878 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12879 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12880 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12884 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12885 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12886 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12887 file for a number of groups.
12890 @cindex local variables
12891 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12892 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12893 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12894 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12895 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12899 @node Score File Editing
12900 @section Score File Editing
12902 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12903 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12904 with a mode for that.
12906 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12907 additional commands:
12912 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12913 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12914 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12915 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12918 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12919 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12920 Insert the current date in numerical format
12921 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12922 you were wondering.
12925 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12926 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12927 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12928 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12929 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12934 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12936 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12937 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12939 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12940 e} to begin editing score files.
12943 @node Adaptive Scoring
12944 @section Adaptive Scoring
12945 @cindex adaptive scoring
12947 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12948 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12949 stupidity, to be precise.
12951 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12952 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12953 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12954 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12955 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12956 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12957 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12958 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12959 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12961 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12962 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12963 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12964 might look something like this:
12967 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12968 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12969 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12970 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12971 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12972 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12973 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12974 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12975 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12976 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12977 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12978 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12981 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12982 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12983 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12984 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12985 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12986 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12989 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12990 will be applied to each article.
12992 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12993 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12994 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12995 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12997 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12998 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12999 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
13000 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
13002 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
13003 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
13004 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
13005 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
13007 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
13008 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
13009 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
13010 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
13011 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
13012 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
13014 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
13015 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
13016 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
13017 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
13018 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
13019 aspirins afterwards.)
13021 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
13022 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
13023 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
13025 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
13026 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
13027 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
13029 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
13030 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
13031 let you use different rules in different groups.
13033 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
13034 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
13035 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
13038 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
13039 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
13040 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
13041 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
13042 the length of the match is less than
13043 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
13044 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
13047 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13048 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
13049 headers. If you adapt on words, the
13050 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
13051 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
13054 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13055 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
13056 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
13057 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
13058 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
13061 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
13062 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
13063 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
13064 score with 30 points.
13066 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
13067 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
13068 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
13069 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
13070 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
13072 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
13073 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
13074 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
13075 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
13077 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
13078 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
13079 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
13080 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
13082 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
13083 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
13084 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
13086 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
13087 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
13088 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
13089 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
13092 @node Home Score File
13093 @section Home Score File
13095 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
13096 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
13097 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
13098 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
13100 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
13101 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
13102 could perhaps use the same home score file.
13104 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
13105 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
13110 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
13114 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
13115 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
13119 A list. The elements in this list can be:
13123 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
13124 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
13127 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
13128 the home score file.
13131 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
13134 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
13139 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
13142 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13143 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
13146 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
13147 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
13149 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
13151 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13152 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
13155 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
13156 Other functions include
13159 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
13160 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
13161 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
13162 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
13166 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
13167 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
13168 their own home score files:
13171 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13172 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
13173 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
13174 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
13175 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
13178 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
13179 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
13180 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
13181 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
13182 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
13184 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
13185 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
13186 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
13187 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
13188 precedence over this variable.
13191 @node Followups To Yourself
13192 @section Followups To Yourself
13194 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
13195 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
13196 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
13197 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
13198 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
13199 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
13203 @item gnus-score-followup-article
13204 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
13205 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
13208 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
13209 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
13210 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
13214 @vindex message-sent-hook
13215 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
13216 @code{message-sent-hook}.
13218 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
13219 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
13223 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13224 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13227 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
13228 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
13233 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
13237 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
13238 is system-dependent.
13242 @section Scoring Tips
13243 @cindex scoring tips
13249 @cindex scoring crossposts
13250 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
13251 the @code{Xref} header.
13253 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
13256 @item Multiple crossposts
13257 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
13258 more than, say, 3 groups:
13260 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
13263 @item Matching on the body
13264 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
13265 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
13266 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
13267 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
13268 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
13269 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
13270 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
13273 @item Marking as read
13274 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
13275 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
13276 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
13280 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
13282 @item Negated character classes
13283 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
13284 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
13285 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
13289 @node Reverse Scoring
13290 @section Reverse Scoring
13291 @cindex reverse scoring
13293 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
13294 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
13295 like this in your score file:
13299 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
13304 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
13305 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
13308 @node Global Score Files
13309 @section Global Score Files
13310 @cindex global score files
13312 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
13313 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
13314 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
13316 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
13317 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
13318 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
13320 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
13321 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
13322 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
13323 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
13324 files are applicable to which group.
13326 Say you want to use the score file
13327 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
13328 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
13331 (setq gnus-global-score-files
13332 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
13333 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
13336 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
13337 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
13338 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
13339 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
13340 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
13342 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
13343 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
13345 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
13346 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
13347 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
13348 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
13349 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
13350 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
13352 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
13358 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
13360 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
13362 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
13364 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
13365 lowered out of existence.
13367 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
13368 articles completely.
13371 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13372 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13373 old articles for a long time.
13376 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13377 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13378 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13379 holding our breath yet?
13383 @section Kill Files
13386 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13387 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13388 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13390 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13391 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13392 files into score files.
13394 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13395 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13396 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13397 that isn't a very good idea.
13399 Normal kill files look like this:
13402 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13403 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13407 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13408 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13410 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13411 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13414 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13419 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13420 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13421 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13424 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13425 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13426 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13429 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13434 @kindex M-k (Group)
13435 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13436 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13439 @kindex M-K (Group)
13440 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13441 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13444 Kill file variables:
13447 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13448 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13449 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13450 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13451 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13452 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13453 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13455 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13456 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13457 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13458 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13461 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13462 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13463 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13464 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13465 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13466 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13467 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13468 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13469 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13471 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13472 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13473 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13478 @node Converting Kill Files
13479 @section Converting Kill Files
13481 @cindex converting kill files
13483 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13484 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13485 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13488 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13489 You can fetch it from
13490 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13492 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13493 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13494 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13502 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13503 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13504 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13506 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13507 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13508 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13509 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13510 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13511 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13512 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13513 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13517 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13518 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13519 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13520 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13524 @node Using GroupLens
13525 @subsection Using GroupLens
13527 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13529 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13530 better bit in town at the moment.
13532 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13536 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13537 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13538 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13539 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13541 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13542 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13543 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13544 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13546 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13547 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13548 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13552 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13553 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13554 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13555 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13556 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13557 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13560 @node Rating Articles
13561 @subsection Rating Articles
13563 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13564 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13565 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13566 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13569 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13574 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13575 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13576 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13579 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13580 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13581 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13582 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13583 threads in rec.humor.
13587 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13588 the score of the article you're reading.
13593 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13594 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13595 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13598 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13599 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13600 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13604 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13605 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13608 @node Displaying Predictions
13609 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13611 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13612 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13613 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13614 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13615 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13617 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13618 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13619 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13620 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13621 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13622 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13623 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13624 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13625 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13626 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13627 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13628 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13629 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13631 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13632 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13633 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13634 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13636 The following are valid values for that variable.
13639 @item prediction-spot
13640 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13643 @item confidence-interval
13644 A numeric confidence interval.
13646 @item prediction-bar
13647 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13649 @item confidence-bar
13650 Numerical confidence.
13652 @item confidence-spot
13653 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13655 @item prediction-num
13656 Plain-old numeric value.
13658 @item confidence-plus-minus
13659 Prediction +/- confidence.
13664 @node GroupLens Variables
13665 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13669 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13670 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13671 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13672 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13675 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13676 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13679 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13680 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13682 @item grouplens-score-offset
13683 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13684 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13687 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13688 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13689 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13694 @node Advanced Scoring
13695 @section Advanced Scoring
13697 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13698 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13699 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13700 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13701 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13703 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13707 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13708 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13709 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13713 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13714 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13716 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13717 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13718 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13719 non-@code{nil} value.
13721 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13722 operator, and various match operators.
13729 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13730 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13731 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13736 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13737 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13738 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13743 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13744 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13748 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13749 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13750 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13751 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13752 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13753 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13754 the ancestry you want to go.
13756 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13757 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13758 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13759 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13760 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13763 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13764 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13766 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13767 when he's talking about Gnus:
13771 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13772 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13778 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13782 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13789 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13790 really don't want to read what he's written:
13794 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13795 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13799 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13800 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13801 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13808 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13809 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13810 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13811 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13815 The possibilities are endless.
13818 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13819 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13821 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13822 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13823 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13824 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13825 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13826 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13827 @samp{subject}) first.
13829 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13830 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13841 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13842 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13848 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13855 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13856 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13861 @section Score Decays
13862 @cindex score decays
13865 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13866 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13867 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13868 use them in any sensible way.
13870 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13871 @findex gnus-decay-score
13872 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
13873 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13874 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13875 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13876 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13877 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
13878 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13879 definition of that function:
13882 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13884 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
13885 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13888 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13890 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13892 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13895 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13896 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13897 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13898 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13902 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13905 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13908 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13912 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13913 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13914 the new score, which should be an integer.
13916 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13917 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13924 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13925 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13926 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13927 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13928 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13929 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13930 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13931 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13932 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13933 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13934 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13935 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13936 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13937 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13938 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13939 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13940 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
13941 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13945 @node Process/Prefix
13946 @section Process/Prefix
13947 @cindex process/prefix convention
13949 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13950 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13952 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13953 command to be performed on.
13957 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13958 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13959 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13960 with the current one.
13962 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13963 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13964 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13966 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13967 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13970 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13971 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13973 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13976 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13977 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13978 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13979 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13981 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13982 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13983 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13984 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13985 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13986 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13987 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13988 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13992 @section Interactive
13993 @cindex interaction
13997 @item gnus-novice-user
13998 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13999 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
14000 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
14001 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
14002 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
14005 @item gnus-expert-user
14006 @vindex gnus-expert-user
14007 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
14008 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
14009 matter how strange.
14011 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
14012 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
14013 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
14014 is @code{t} by default.
14016 @item gnus-interactive-exit
14017 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
14018 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14023 @node Symbolic Prefixes
14024 @section Symbolic Prefixes
14025 @cindex symbolic prefixes
14027 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
14028 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
14029 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
14030 rule of 900 to the current article.
14032 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
14033 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
14034 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
14035 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
14036 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
14037 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
14038 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
14040 @kindex M-i (Summary)
14041 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
14042 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
14043 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
14044 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
14045 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
14046 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
14047 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
14048 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
14050 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
14051 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
14052 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
14054 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
14058 @node Formatting Variables
14059 @section Formatting Variables
14060 @cindex formatting variables
14062 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
14063 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
14064 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
14065 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
14066 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
14069 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
14070 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
14071 lots of percentages everywhere.
14074 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
14075 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
14076 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
14077 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
14078 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
14081 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
14082 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
14083 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
14084 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
14085 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
14086 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
14087 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
14088 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
14090 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
14091 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
14093 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
14094 @findex gnus-update-format
14095 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
14096 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
14097 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
14098 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
14102 @node Formatting Basics
14103 @subsection Formatting Basics
14105 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
14106 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
14107 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
14109 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
14110 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
14111 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
14112 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
14113 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
14116 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
14117 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
14118 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
14119 less than 4 characters wide.
14122 @node Mode Line Formatting
14123 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
14125 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
14126 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
14127 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
14128 with the following two differences:
14133 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
14136 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
14137 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
14138 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
14139 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
14140 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
14141 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
14142 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
14147 @node Advanced Formatting
14148 @subsection Advanced Formatting
14150 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
14151 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
14152 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
14153 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
14155 These are the valid modifiers:
14160 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
14164 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
14169 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
14172 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
14177 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
14180 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
14183 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
14186 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
14190 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
14191 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
14192 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
14193 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
14194 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
14195 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
14196 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
14198 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
14199 last operation, padding.
14201 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
14202 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
14203 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
14204 @xref{Compilation}.
14207 @node User-Defined Specs
14208 @subsection User-Defined Specs
14210 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
14211 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
14212 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
14213 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
14214 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
14215 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
14216 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
14217 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
14218 should protect against that.
14220 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
14221 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
14222 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
14223 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
14227 @node Formatting Fonts
14228 @subsection Formatting Fonts
14230 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
14231 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
14232 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
14233 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
14236 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
14237 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
14238 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
14239 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
14240 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
14241 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
14243 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
14246 ;; Create three face types.
14247 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
14248 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
14250 ;; We want the article count to be in
14251 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
14252 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
14253 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
14255 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
14256 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
14258 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
14259 (setq gnus-group-line-format
14260 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
14263 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
14264 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
14266 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
14267 mode-line variables.
14270 @node Windows Configuration
14271 @section Windows Configuration
14272 @cindex windows configuration
14274 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
14276 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
14277 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
14278 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
14279 @code{t} by default.
14281 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
14282 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
14283 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
14286 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
14287 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
14288 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14292 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
14293 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
14294 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
14295 possible names is listed below.
14297 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
14298 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
14301 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14305 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
14306 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
14307 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
14308 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
14309 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
14310 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
14311 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
14312 size spec per split.
14314 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
14315 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
14316 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
14317 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
14318 present) gets focus.
14320 Here's a more complicated example:
14323 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
14324 (summary 0.25 point)
14325 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
14329 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
14330 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
14331 occupy, not a percentage.
14333 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
14334 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
14335 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
14336 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
14337 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
14340 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
14343 (article (horizontal 1.0
14348 (summary 0.25 point)
14353 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
14354 @code{horizontal} thingie?
14356 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
14357 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
14358 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
14359 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
14360 the screen is to be given to this strip.
14362 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
14363 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
14364 lines from the splits.
14366 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
14370 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
14371 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14372 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14373 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14374 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14375 size = number | frame-params
14376 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14379 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14380 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14381 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14382 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14384 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14385 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14386 @cindex window height
14387 @cindex window width
14388 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14389 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14390 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14391 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14392 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14393 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14395 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14396 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14397 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14398 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14400 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14401 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14402 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14403 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14404 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14405 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14406 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14407 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14408 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14409 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14410 configuration list.
14413 (gnus-configure-frame
14417 (article 0.3 point))
14425 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14426 @code{frame} split:
14429 (gnus-configure-frame
14432 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14434 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14435 (user-position . t)
14436 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14441 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14442 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14443 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14444 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14445 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14446 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14447 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14448 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14451 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14452 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14454 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14455 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14456 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14457 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14458 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14459 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14461 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14462 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14463 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14467 (message (horizontal 1.0
14468 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14470 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14475 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14476 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14477 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14478 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14479 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14482 (gnus-add-configuration
14483 '(article (vertical 1.0
14485 (summary .25 point)
14489 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14490 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14491 Gnus has been loaded.
14493 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14494 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14495 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14496 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14497 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14500 @node Faces and Fonts
14501 @section Faces and Fonts
14506 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14507 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14508 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14513 @section Compilation
14514 @cindex compilation
14515 @cindex byte-compilation
14517 @findex gnus-compile
14519 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14520 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14521 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14522 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14523 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14524 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14527 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14528 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14529 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14530 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14531 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14532 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14533 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14537 @section Mode Lines
14540 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14541 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14542 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14543 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14544 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14545 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14546 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14549 @cindex display-time
14551 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14552 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14553 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14554 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14555 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14556 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14557 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14558 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14561 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14563 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14564 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14566 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14567 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14568 (length display-time-string)))))
14571 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14572 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14573 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14574 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14575 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14578 @node Highlighting and Menus
14579 @section Highlighting and Menus
14581 @cindex highlighting
14584 @vindex gnus-visual
14585 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14586 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14587 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14590 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14591 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14594 @item group-highlight
14595 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14596 @item summary-highlight
14597 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14598 @item article-highlight
14599 Do highlights according to @code{gnus-article-display-hook} in the
14602 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14604 Create menus in the group buffer.
14606 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14608 Create menus in the article buffer.
14610 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14612 Create menus in the server buffer.
14614 Create menus in the score buffers.
14616 Create menus in all buffers.
14619 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14620 buffers, you could say something like:
14623 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14626 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14629 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14632 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14633 in all Gnus buffers.
14635 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14638 @item gnus-mouse-face
14639 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14640 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14641 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14645 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14649 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14650 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14651 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14653 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14654 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14655 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14657 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14658 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14659 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14661 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14662 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14663 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14665 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14666 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14667 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14669 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14670 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14671 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14682 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14683 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14684 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14685 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14686 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14690 @vindex gnus-carpal
14691 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14692 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14693 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14698 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14699 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14700 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14702 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14703 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14704 Face used on buttons.
14706 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14707 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14708 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14710 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14711 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14712 Buttons in the group buffer.
14714 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14715 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14716 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14718 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14719 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14720 Buttons in the server buffer.
14722 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14723 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14724 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14727 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14728 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14729 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14737 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14738 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14739 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14740 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14741 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14743 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14744 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14745 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14747 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14748 been idle for thirty minutes:
14751 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14754 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14758 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14761 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14762 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14763 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14765 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14766 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14767 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14768 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14770 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14771 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14772 @var{idle} minutes.
14774 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14775 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14778 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14779 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14780 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14782 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14783 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14784 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14785 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14787 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14788 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14789 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14791 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14792 your @file{.gnus} file:
14794 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14796 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14799 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14800 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14801 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14802 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14803 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14804 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14805 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14806 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14807 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14808 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14809 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14811 @findex gnus-demon-init
14812 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14813 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14814 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14815 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14816 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14818 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
14819 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14820 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14829 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14830 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14832 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14833 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14834 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14835 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14838 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14839 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14840 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14841 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14843 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14844 this will make spam disappear.
14846 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14849 @item gnus-use-nocem
14850 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14851 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14854 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14855 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14856 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14857 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14858 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14860 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14861 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14862 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14863 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14864 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14865 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14866 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14868 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14871 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14872 @cindex Chris Lewis
14873 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14874 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14877 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14878 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14879 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14881 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14883 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14886 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14887 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14888 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14891 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14892 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14893 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14894 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14895 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14896 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14897 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14898 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14899 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14900 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14902 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14903 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14906 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14909 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14910 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14913 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14916 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14919 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14920 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14922 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14923 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14924 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14925 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14927 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14928 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14931 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14933 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14941 This might be dangerous, though.
14943 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14944 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14945 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14946 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14948 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14949 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14950 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14951 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14952 might then see old spam.
14956 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14957 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14958 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14959 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14966 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14967 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14968 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14970 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14971 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14972 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14973 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14974 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14975 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14976 @code{undo} function.
14978 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14979 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14980 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14981 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14982 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14983 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14984 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14985 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14986 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14987 never be totally undoable.
14989 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14990 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14992 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14993 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14994 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14995 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
15000 @section Moderation
15003 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
15004 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
15005 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
15008 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
15012 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
15015 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
15017 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
15022 You split your incoming mail by matching on
15023 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
15024 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
15027 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
15028 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
15031 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
15032 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
15036 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
15039 (setq gnus-moderated-list
15040 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
15044 @node XEmacs Enhancements
15045 @section XEmacs Enhancements
15048 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
15052 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
15053 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
15054 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
15055 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
15068 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
15069 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
15070 over your shoulder as you read news.
15073 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
15074 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
15075 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
15076 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
15077 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
15082 @subsubsection Picon Basics
15084 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
15093 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
15094 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
15095 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
15096 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
15097 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
15098 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
15099 @code{GIF} formats.
15102 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15103 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
15104 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
15105 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
15106 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
15108 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15109 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
15110 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
15111 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
15112 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
15113 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15116 @node Picon Requirements
15117 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
15119 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
15120 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
15123 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
15124 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
15125 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
15127 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15128 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
15129 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
15130 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
15131 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
15135 @subsubsection Easy Picons
15137 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
15138 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
15141 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
15142 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15143 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15144 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15145 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
15148 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
15149 containing the Picons databases.
15151 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
15154 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15155 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
15160 @subsubsection Hard Picons
15168 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
15169 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
15170 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
15171 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
15172 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
15177 @item gnus-picons-database
15178 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15179 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
15180 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
15181 subdirectories. This is only useful if
15182 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
15183 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
15185 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15186 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15187 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
15188 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
15189 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
15190 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
15191 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15193 @item gnus-picons-display-where
15194 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15195 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
15196 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
15197 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
15198 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
15199 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
15200 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
15202 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15203 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15204 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
15209 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
15210 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
15212 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
15213 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
15216 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
15217 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15219 @item gnus-article-display-picons
15220 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15221 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
15222 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
15223 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15225 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
15226 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15227 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
15228 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15232 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
15233 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
15236 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15240 @node Picon Useless Configuration
15241 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
15249 The following variables offer further control over how things are
15250 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
15251 don't need to worry about.
15255 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
15256 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
15257 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15258 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
15260 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
15261 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
15262 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
15263 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
15265 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
15266 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
15267 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15268 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
15269 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
15271 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15272 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15273 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
15274 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
15275 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
15276 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
15277 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
15279 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15280 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15281 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
15282 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
15284 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15285 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15286 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
15287 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
15288 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
15289 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
15290 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
15292 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15293 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15294 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
15295 Defaults to @code{nil}.
15297 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
15298 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
15299 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
15300 Defaults to @code{t}.
15302 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15303 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15304 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
15305 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
15307 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15308 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15309 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
15310 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
15312 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15313 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15314 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
15315 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
15316 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
15317 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
15318 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
15319 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
15330 @subsection Smileys
15335 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
15340 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
15341 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
15343 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
15344 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15347 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
15350 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
15351 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
15352 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
15353 text and maps that to file names.
15355 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
15356 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
15357 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
15358 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
15359 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
15360 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
15362 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
15363 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
15365 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
15366 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
15367 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
15369 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
15370 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
15374 @item smiley-data-directory
15375 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15376 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15378 @item smiley-flesh-color
15379 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15380 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15382 @item smiley-features-color
15383 @vindex smiley-features-color
15384 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15386 @item smiley-tongue-color
15387 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15388 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15390 @item smiley-circle-color
15391 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15392 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15394 @item smiley-mouse-face
15395 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15396 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15402 @subsection Toolbar
15412 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15413 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15414 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15415 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15416 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15418 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15419 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15420 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15422 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15423 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15424 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15426 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15427 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15428 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15434 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15437 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15438 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15439 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15440 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15441 unusual directory structure.
15443 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15444 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15445 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15446 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15448 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15449 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15450 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15451 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15452 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15453 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15455 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15456 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15457 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15471 @node Fuzzy Matching
15472 @section Fuzzy Matching
15473 @cindex fuzzy matching
15475 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15476 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15478 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15479 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15480 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15482 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15483 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15484 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15485 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15486 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15489 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15490 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15494 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15496 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15497 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15498 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15499 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15500 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15501 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15502 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15503 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15506 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15507 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15508 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15509 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15510 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15511 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15515 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15516 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15518 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15519 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15520 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15521 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15522 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15523 part of the mail address.)
15526 (setq message-default-news-headers
15527 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15530 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15531 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15536 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15537 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15538 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15544 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15545 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15546 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15547 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15549 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15550 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15551 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15552 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15553 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15554 your fancy split rule in this way:
15559 (to "larsi" "misc")
15563 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15564 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15565 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15566 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15567 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15569 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15570 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15571 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15572 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15573 cosmic balance somewhat.
15575 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15576 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15577 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15578 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15581 @node Various Various
15582 @section Various Various
15588 @item gnus-home-directory
15589 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15590 defaults to @file{~/}.
15592 @item gnus-directory
15593 @vindex gnus-directory
15594 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15595 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15596 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15598 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15599 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15600 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15601 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15603 @item gnus-default-directory
15604 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15605 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15606 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15607 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15608 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15609 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15610 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15613 @vindex gnus-verbose
15614 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15615 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15616 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15617 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15618 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15620 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15621 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15622 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15623 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15625 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15626 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15627 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15628 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15629 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15630 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15631 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15632 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15633 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15634 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15636 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15637 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15638 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15639 read when doing the operation described above.
15641 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15642 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15644 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15645 @cindex characters in file names
15646 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15647 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15648 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15651 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15655 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15656 Windows (phooey) systems.
15658 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15659 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15660 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15661 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15662 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15664 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15665 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15666 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15667 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15668 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15670 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15671 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15672 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15681 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15682 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15684 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15686 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15692 Not because of victories @*
15695 but for the common sunshine,@*
15697 the largess of the spring.
15701 but for the day's work done@*
15702 as well as I was able;@*
15703 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15704 but at the common table.@*
15709 @chapter Appendices
15712 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15713 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15714 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15715 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15716 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15717 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15718 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15726 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15727 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15729 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15730 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15731 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15732 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15733 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15735 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15736 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15737 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15738 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15739 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15740 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15742 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15743 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15744 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15745 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15747 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15748 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15749 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15751 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15752 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15754 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15755 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
15757 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
15758 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6 on March 8th 1998.
15760 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15761 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15762 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15763 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15764 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15768 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15769 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15770 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15771 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15772 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15773 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15774 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15781 What's the point of Gnus?
15783 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15784 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15785 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15786 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15787 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15788 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15789 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15790 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15791 keep track of millions of people who post?
15793 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15794 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15795 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15796 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15797 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15798 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15799 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15800 every one of you to explore and invent.
15802 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15803 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15806 @node Compatibility
15807 @subsection Compatibility
15809 @cindex compatibility
15810 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15811 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15812 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15817 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15821 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15824 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15827 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15828 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15829 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15830 important variables have their values copied into their global
15831 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15832 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15834 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15835 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15836 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15837 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15838 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15842 @cindex highlighting
15843 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15844 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15845 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15846 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15847 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15848 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15851 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15852 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15853 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15854 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15856 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15857 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15858 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15859 to stop doing it the old way.
15861 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15863 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15865 @cindex reporting bugs
15867 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15868 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15869 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15871 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
15872 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
15873 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
15874 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
15879 @subsection Conformity
15881 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15882 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15889 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15893 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15895 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15896 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15897 We do have some breaches to this one.
15902 Gnus does not yet fully handle MIME, and this standard-to-be seems to
15903 think that MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15906 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15907 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15908 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15909 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15910 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15915 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
15916 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
15917 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
15918 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
15922 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15923 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15928 @subsection Emacsen
15934 Gnus should work on :
15942 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
15946 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15947 reliably, at least.
15949 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15950 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15951 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15956 @subsection Contributors
15957 @cindex contributors
15959 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15960 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15961 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15962 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15963 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15964 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15965 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15966 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15967 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15968 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15970 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15976 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15979 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15980 well as numerous other things).
15983 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15986 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15989 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15990 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15993 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15996 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15997 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16000 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
16003 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
16006 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
16009 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
16012 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
16013 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
16016 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
16019 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
16022 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
16025 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
16029 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
16032 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
16035 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
16038 Fran
\e,Ag
\e(Bois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
16039 well as autoconf support.
16043 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
16044 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
16046 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
16051 David K
\e,Ae
\e(Bgedal,
16055 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
16059 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
16081 Massimo Campostrini,
16089 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
16095 Michael Welsh Duggan,
16098 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
16102 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
16108 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
16110 Michelangelo Grigni,
16113 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
16115 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
16117 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
16122 Fran
\e,Ag
\e(Bois Felix Ingrand,
16123 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
16125 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
16134 Peter Skov Knudsen,
16135 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
16136 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
16137 Thor Kristoffersen,
16140 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
16157 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
16158 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
16165 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
16169 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
16172 John McClary Prevost,
16178 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
16183 Christian von Roques,
16185 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
16191 Philippe Schnoebelen,
16193 Randal L. Schwartz,
16222 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
16224 Shenghuo Zhu. @c Zhu
16226 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
16227 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
16228 (550kB and counting).
16230 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
16233 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
16234 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
16238 @subsection New Features
16239 @cindex new features
16242 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
16243 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
16244 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
16245 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
16248 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
16249 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
16250 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
16254 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
16256 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
16261 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
16262 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
16265 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
16266 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
16269 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
16272 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
16273 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
16274 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
16277 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
16278 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
16279 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
16280 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16283 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
16284 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16287 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
16288 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
16289 (@pxref{The Active File}).
16292 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
16293 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
16296 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
16297 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
16298 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16301 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
16302 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
16303 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
16306 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
16307 the @file{.emacs} file.
16310 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
16311 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16314 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
16315 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
16318 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
16319 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16322 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
16323 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
16326 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
16327 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16330 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
16333 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
16334 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
16337 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
16338 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
16341 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
16342 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
16345 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
16348 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
16349 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16352 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
16356 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
16360 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
16361 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
16364 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
16370 @node September Gnus
16371 @subsubsection September Gnus
16375 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
16379 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
16384 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
16385 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
16389 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16390 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16394 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16398 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16399 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16402 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16406 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16409 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16412 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16415 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16419 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16420 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16423 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16427 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16431 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16435 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16439 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16442 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16443 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16446 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16450 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16451 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16454 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16457 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16458 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16459 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16462 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16466 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16469 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16473 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16474 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16477 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16478 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16481 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16482 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16485 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16486 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16487 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16490 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16491 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16494 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16497 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16500 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16501 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16505 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16508 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16511 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16512 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16515 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16519 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16522 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16527 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16530 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16534 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16537 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16541 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16544 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16547 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16548 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16551 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16552 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16556 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16557 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16560 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16564 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16565 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16568 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16571 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16575 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16579 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16580 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16583 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16587 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16588 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16591 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16592 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16595 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16599 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16602 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16603 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16607 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16610 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16616 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16618 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16622 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16629 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16632 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16633 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16636 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16637 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16641 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16642 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16645 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16648 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16649 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16652 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16656 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16657 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16661 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16662 Server Internals}).
16665 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16669 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16672 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16673 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16676 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16677 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16678 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16681 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16682 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16685 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16686 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16689 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16693 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16694 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16697 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16698 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16701 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16705 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16708 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16712 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16713 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16716 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16717 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16720 A new command for reading collections of documents
16721 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16722 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16725 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16729 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16730 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16733 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16734 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16735 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16738 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16739 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16743 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16747 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16751 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16756 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16760 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16764 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16765 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16768 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16771 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16772 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16779 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16781 New features in Gnus 5.6:
16786 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16787 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16788 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16791 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16792 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16793 group, which is created automatically.
16796 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16800 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16803 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16804 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16807 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16811 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16814 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16815 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16818 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16821 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16822 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16825 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
16826 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
16829 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
16830 control over simplification.
16833 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
16836 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
16840 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
16843 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16846 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
16847 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
16848 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
16851 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
16852 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
16855 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
16859 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
16860 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
16863 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
16864 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
16867 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
16871 A history of where mails have been split is available.
16874 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
16877 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
16878 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
16881 A new function for citing in Message has been
16882 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
16885 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
16888 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
16892 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
16893 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
16896 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
16897 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
16900 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
16903 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
16908 @node Newest Features
16909 @subsection Newest Features
16912 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16915 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16917 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16918 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
16921 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
16926 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
16929 Really do unbinhexing.
16932 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
16933 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
16936 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
16939 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
16942 facep is not declared.
16945 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
16946 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
16949 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
16954 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
16955 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
16956 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
16957 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
16958 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
16959 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
16960 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
16965 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
16968 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
16971 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
16973 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
16974 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
16976 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
16978 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
16980 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
16981 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
16983 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
16985 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
16986 be marked as unread.
16988 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
16990 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
16992 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
16993 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
16995 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
16997 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
16999 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
17000 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
17002 topics that contain just groups with ticked
17003 articles aren't displayed.
17005 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
17007 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
17008 make the mail groups killed.
17010 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
17012 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
17013 and articles have to be removed.
17015 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
17018 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
17020 finding short score file names takes forever.
17022 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17024 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
17026 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
17028 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
17030 nnweb doesn't work properly.
17032 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
17034 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
17035 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
17039 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
17041 really unbinhex binhex files.
17043 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
17044 bar and the Gnus bar.
17047 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
17048 `(canonize-message-id id)'
17049 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
17050 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
17051 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
17052 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
17057 nnml .overview directory with splits.
17061 postponed commands.
17063 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
17065 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
17068 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
17069 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
17071 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
17072 inherit copy prompts and save files.
17074 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
17076 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
17077 for backends that support that.
17079 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
17081 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
17082 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
17084 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
17085 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
17087 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
17089 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
17091 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
17093 server mode command: close/open all connections
17095 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
17096 has been changed before using it.
17098 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
17100 hide (sub)threads with low score.
17102 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
17104 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
17106 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
17107 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
17109 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
17110 contain groups that match a regexp.
17112 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
17115 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
17118 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
17119 from subject lines.
17121 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
17123 nntp-ping-before-connect
17125 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
17127 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
17128 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
17130 message annotations.
17132 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
17134 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
17135 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
17137 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
17142 support qmail maildir spools
17144 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
17146 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
17148 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
17150 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
17151 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
17153 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
17155 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
17157 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
17158 finds and generate proper active ranges.
17160 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
17161 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
17163 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
17165 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
17167 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
17168 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
17170 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
17172 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
17174 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
17175 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
17178 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
17180 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
17182 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
17183 `C-c C-c' when posting.
17185 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
17188 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
17189 should be marker as expirable.
17191 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
17193 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
17194 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
17196 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
17197 Also consult Date headers.
17199 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
17201 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
17203 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
17204 Message-ID, delete the "original".
17206 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
17207 into a See-Also header.
17209 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
17211 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
17213 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
17214 should be listed as such and not as "K".
17216 generate font names dynamically.
17218 score file mode auto-alist.
17220 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
17221 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
17223 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
17224 absolutely all headers there is.
17226 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
17227 and pipe them to the process.
17229 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
17230 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
17231 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
17233 function for starting to edit a file to put into
17234 the current mail group.
17236 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
17238 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
17239 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
17241 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
17242 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
17244 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
17246 when replying to several process-marked articles,
17247 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
17249 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
17250 groups it has been mailed to.
17252 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
17254 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
17256 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
17258 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
17259 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
17261 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
17262 newlines) should be ignored.
17264 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
17265 groups in subtopics as well.
17267 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
17269 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
17272 add edit and forward secondary marks.
17274 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
17276 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
17278 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
17280 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
17282 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
17284 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
17285 or the formatted article.
17287 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
17289 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
17290 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
17292 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
17294 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
17296 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
17298 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
17299 even unread articles.
17301 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
17303 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
17305 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
17307 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
17309 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17311 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
17314 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
17315 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
17317 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
17318 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
17320 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
17322 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
17324 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
17325 from a particular server? Hm.
17327 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
17328 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
17330 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
17332 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
17333 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
17335 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
17336 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
17338 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
17339 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
17340 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
17343 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
17344 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
17346 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
17348 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
17350 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
17352 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
17355 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
17358 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
17359 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
17361 command to show and edit group scores
17363 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
17366 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
17368 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
17370 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
17371 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
17374 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
17375 that are of that length.
17377 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
17379 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
17381 asynchronous posting under nntp.
17383 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
17385 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
17387 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17389 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17390 a score lower than this number.
17392 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17394 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17396 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17397 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17399 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17401 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17402 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17404 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17407 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17408 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17409 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17410 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17412 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17415 command to remove all topic stuff.
17417 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17418 and splitting the resulting digests.
17420 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17422 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17424 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17425 matches an alist -- before saving.
17427 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17429 variable to activate each group before entering them
17430 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17432 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17433 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17435 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17436 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17438 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17440 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17441 of several groups at once.
17443 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17444 matches some regexp(s).
17446 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17448 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17450 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17452 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17454 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17456 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17458 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17460 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17461 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17462 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17463 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17465 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17466 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17468 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17470 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17471 recently cited text.
17473 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17475 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17478 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17479 server and just read the articles in the server
17481 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17482 value of nnoo variables.
17484 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17486 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17487 listed in each group info.
17489 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17492 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17493 should only be applied to some groups.
17495 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17496 mail-copies-to: never.
17498 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17499 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17501 the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
17503 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17506 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17509 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17511 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17514 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17518 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17520 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17521 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17522 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17523 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17524 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17526 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
17527 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17534 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17535 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17537 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17538 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17540 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17541 "Return the date the group was last read."
17542 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17547 tanken var at n
\e,Ae
\e(Br du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til ilete
17548 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den v
\e,Af
\e(Bre en
17549 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17550 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17554 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17555 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17557 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17560 They could be used like this:
17564 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17565 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17566 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17568 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17570 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17573 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17576 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17577 affect the summary line format.
17581 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17583 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17584 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17586 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17589 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17591 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17593 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17595 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17597 - For other files, just find them normally.
17599 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17600 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17603 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17604 tell him what you are doing.
17607 Currently, I get prompted:
17611 decend into sci.something ?
17615 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17616 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17617 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17618 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17621 Ja, det burde v
\e,Af
\e(Bre en m
\e,Ae
\e(Bte
\e,Ae
\e(B si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17622 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? S
\e,Ae
\e(B kunne score-regler legges til den
17623 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17624 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17627 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17628 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17634 more than n blank lines
17636 more than m identical lines
17637 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17639 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17643 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17644 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17645 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17646 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17649 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17650 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17651 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17652 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17655 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17658 soup - bowl of soup
17659 score below - dim light bulb
17660 score over - bright light bulb
17663 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17668 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17669 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17670 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17671 if (articles-selected)
17672 start-reading-selected-articles;
17673 junk-unread-articles;
17678 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17679 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17680 select-thread-under-cursor;
17682 select-article-under-cursor;
17686 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17687 if (more-pages-in-article)
17689 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17696 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17697 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17698 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17701 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17702 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17703 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17704 the wildcard expression).
17707 It would be nice if it also handled
17709 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17711 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17716 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17717 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17718 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17719 article versions) variable.
17721 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17723 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17724 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17728 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17731 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17732 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17733 (message-sent-hook).
17735 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17738 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17742 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17743 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17746 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17747 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17748 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17751 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17752 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17756 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17759 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17763 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17764 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17767 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17768 value of the signature file.
17771 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17772 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17775 (setq message-tab-alist
17776 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17777 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17779 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17783 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17786 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17789 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17792 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17793 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17796 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17799 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17800 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17801 do more gathering by subject.
17804 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17805 article numerical order.
17808 (gnus-thread-total-score
17809 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17813 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17816 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17817 in the summary buffer.
17820 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17821 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17824 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17825 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
17826 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
17827 and/or newsgroup name.
17830 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
17833 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
17836 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
17839 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
17840 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
17841 will automatically get the process mark.
17844 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
17845 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
17846 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
17849 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
17853 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
17854 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
17857 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
17858 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
17862 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17863 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17866 be able to post via DejaNews.
17869 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17872 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
17873 allow them to be displayed separately.
17876 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17877 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17880 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17881 articles that match a certain From header.
17884 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17885 saving living summary buffers.
17888 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17889 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17892 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17893 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17896 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17897 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17900 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17901 (goto-char (point-min))
17902 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17903 (replace-match "`" t t))
17904 (goto-char (point-min))
17905 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17906 (replace-match "'" t t))
17907 (goto-char (point-min))
17908 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17909 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17910 (goto-char (point-min))
17911 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17912 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17917 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17919 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
17920 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
17921 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
17922 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
17926 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
17929 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
17930 numbers and match on the age of the article.
17934 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
17935 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
17936 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
17938 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
17939 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
17941 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
17942 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
17947 all commands that react to the process mark should push
17948 the current process mark set onto the stack.
17951 gnus-article-hide-pgp
17952 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt islette den dersom teksten matcher
17954 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
17956 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
17957 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
17960 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
17961 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
17964 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
17968 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
17969 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
17972 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
17975 nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
17978 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
17981 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
17985 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
17991 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
17994 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
17998 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
17999 X characters in the body.
18002 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
18005 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
18008 format spec to "tab" to a position.
18011 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
18014 command to display all dormant articles.
18017 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
18020 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
18021 to something someone else has said.
18024 Read Netscape discussion groups:
18025 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
18028 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
18029 the displayed version.
18032 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
18036 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
18039 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
18040 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
18041 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
18045 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
18046 in the head or body.
18049 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
18052 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
18055 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
18056 in a special, unique buffer.
18059 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
18062 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
18063 is less than a certain number of days old.
18066 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
18069 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
18072 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
18073 file, for instance.
18076 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
18077 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
18078 dummy root instead of the first article.
18081 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
18082 topics for displaying.
18085 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
18086 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
18089 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
18092 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
18093 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
18094 summary buffer for each article.
18097 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
18100 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
18104 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
18107 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
18111 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
18114 Solve the halting problem.
18123 @section The Manual
18127 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
18128 either @code{texi2dvi}
18130 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
18131 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
18133 to get what you hold in your hands now.
18135 The following conventions have been used:
18140 This is a @samp{string}
18143 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
18146 This is a @file{file}
18149 This is a @code{symbol}
18153 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
18157 (setq flargnoze "yes")
18160 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
18163 (setq flumphel 'yes)
18166 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
18167 ever get them confused.
18171 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
18172 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
18173 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
18174 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
18175 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
18176 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
18177 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
18185 @section Terminology
18187 @cindex terminology
18192 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
18193 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
18194 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
18195 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
18196 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
18200 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
18201 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
18202 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
18203 not posting, and replying is not following up.
18207 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
18211 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
18216 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
18217 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
18218 is all done by the backends.
18222 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
18223 default, way of getting news.
18227 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
18228 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
18233 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
18234 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
18238 A message that has been posted as news.
18241 @cindex mail message
18242 A message that has been mailed.
18246 A mail message or news article
18250 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
18255 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
18260 A line from the head of an article.
18264 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
18265 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
18269 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
18270 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
18271 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
18272 normal @sc{head} format.
18276 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
18277 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
18278 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
18279 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
18280 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
18281 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
18283 @item killed groups
18284 @cindex killed groups
18285 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
18286 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
18288 @item zombie groups
18289 @cindex zombie groups
18290 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
18293 @cindex active file
18294 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
18295 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
18296 is rather large, as you might surmise.
18299 @cindex bogus groups
18300 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
18301 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
18302 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
18305 @cindex activating groups
18306 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
18307 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
18308 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
18312 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
18314 @item select method
18315 @cindex select method
18316 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
18319 @item virtual server
18320 @cindex virtual server
18321 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
18322 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
18323 whole is a virtual server.
18327 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
18328 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
18331 @item ephemeral groups
18332 @cindex ephemeral groups
18333 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
18334 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
18335 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
18338 @cindex solid groups
18339 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
18340 group buffer are solid groups.
18342 @item sparse articles
18343 @cindex sparse articles
18344 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
18345 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
18349 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
18350 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
18354 @cindex thread root
18355 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
18356 articles in the thread.
18360 An article that has responses.
18364 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
18368 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
18369 specified by RFC1153.
18375 @node Customization
18376 @section Customization
18377 @cindex general customization
18379 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
18380 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
18381 for some quite common situations.
18384 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
18385 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
18386 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
18387 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
18391 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
18392 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
18394 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
18395 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
18396 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
18400 @item gnus-read-active-file
18401 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
18402 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
18403 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18404 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
18405 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
18407 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
18408 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
18409 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
18410 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18414 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18415 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18417 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18418 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18419 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18423 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18424 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18425 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18426 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18427 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18429 @item gnus-visible-headers
18430 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18431 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18432 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18433 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18435 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18436 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18438 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18439 '(gnus-article-hide-headers
18440 gnus-article-hide-signature
18441 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18444 @item gnus-use-full-window
18445 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18446 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18447 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18448 want to read them anyway.
18450 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18451 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18454 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18455 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18456 lines, which might save some time.
18460 @node Little Disk Space
18461 @subsection Little Disk Space
18464 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18465 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18469 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18470 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18471 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18472 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18475 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18476 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18477 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18478 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18479 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18485 @subsection Slow Machine
18486 @cindex slow machine
18488 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18489 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18491 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18492 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18494 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18495 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18496 summary buffer faster.
18498 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18499 processing a bit faster.
18503 @node Troubleshooting
18504 @section Troubleshooting
18505 @cindex troubleshooting
18507 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18515 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18518 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18519 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18523 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18524 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18525 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18526 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18529 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18533 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18534 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18535 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18536 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18537 something like that.
18540 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18543 @cindex reporting bugs
18545 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18547 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18548 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18549 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18550 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18552 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18553 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18554 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18555 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18558 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18559 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18560 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18561 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18562 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18563 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18565 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18566 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18567 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18570 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18571 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18573 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18574 @cindex ding mailing list
18575 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18576 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18580 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18581 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18583 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18584 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18585 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18586 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18589 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18590 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18591 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18592 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18593 and general methods of operation.
18596 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18597 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18598 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18599 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18600 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18601 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18602 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18603 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18604 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18608 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18609 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18610 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18611 @cindex utility functions
18613 @cindex internal variables
18615 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18616 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18617 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18621 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18622 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18623 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18625 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18626 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18627 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18629 @item gnus-group-real-name
18630 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18631 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18634 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18635 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18636 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18637 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18639 @item gnus-get-info
18640 @findex gnus-get-info
18641 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18643 @item gnus-group-unread
18644 @findex gnus-group-unread
18645 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
18649 @findex gnus-active
18650 The active entry for @var{group}.
18652 @item gnus-set-active
18653 @findex gnus-set-active
18654 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
18656 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18657 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18658 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18661 @item gnus-continuum-version
18662 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18663 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18664 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18667 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18668 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18669 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18671 @item gnus-news-group-p
18672 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18673 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18675 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18676 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18677 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18679 @item gnus-server-to-method
18680 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18681 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18683 @item gnus-server-equal
18684 @findex gnus-server-equal
18685 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18687 @item gnus-group-native-p
18688 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18689 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18691 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18692 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18693 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18695 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18696 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18697 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18699 @item group-group-find-parameter
18700 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18701 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18702 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18704 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18705 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18706 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18708 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18709 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18710 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18712 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18713 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18714 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18715 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18718 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18722 @item gnus-read-method
18723 @findex gnus-read-method
18724 Prompts the user for a select method.
18729 @node Backend Interface
18730 @subsection Backend Interface
18732 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18733 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18734 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18735 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18736 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18737 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18739 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18740 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18741 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18742 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18743 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18744 been opened, the function should fail.
18746 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18747 name. Take this example:
18751 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18752 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18755 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18756 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18758 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18759 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18760 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18762 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18763 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18764 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18766 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18767 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18768 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18769 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18770 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18771 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18774 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18775 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18776 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18777 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18780 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18783 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18786 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18787 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18788 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18789 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18790 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18791 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18795 @node Required Backend Functions
18796 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18800 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18802 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18803 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18804 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18805 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18807 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18808 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18809 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18810 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18812 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18813 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18814 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18815 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
18816 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
18817 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
18818 number, do maximum fetches.
18820 Here's an example HEAD:
18823 221 1056 Article retrieved.
18824 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
18825 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
18826 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
18827 Subject: Re: Something very droll
18828 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
18829 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
18831 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
18832 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
18833 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
18837 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
18838 these in the data buffer.
18840 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
18844 head = error / valid-head
18845 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
18846 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
18847 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
18848 header = <text> eol
18851 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
18852 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
18856 nov-buffer = *nov-line
18857 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
18858 field = <text except TAB>
18861 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
18865 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
18867 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
18868 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
18870 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
18871 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
18872 server. In fact, it should do so.
18874 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
18875 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
18878 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
18880 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
18881 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
18884 There should be no data returned.
18887 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
18889 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
18890 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
18891 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
18892 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
18894 There should be no data returned.
18897 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
18899 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
18900 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
18901 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
18902 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
18904 There should be no data returned.
18907 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
18909 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
18911 There should be no data returned.
18914 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
18916 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
18917 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
18918 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
18919 it would be nice if that were possible.
18921 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
18922 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
18923 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
18924 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
18925 into its article buffer.
18927 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
18928 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
18929 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
18930 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
18931 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
18932 on successful article retrieval.
18935 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
18937 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
18938 making @var{group} the current group.
18940 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
18943 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
18946 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
18949 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
18950 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
18951 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
18952 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
18953 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
18954 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
18955 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
18956 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
18959 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
18960 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
18961 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
18965 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18967 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
18968 a no-op on most backends.
18970 There should be no data returned.
18973 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
18975 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
18978 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
18981 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
18982 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
18985 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
18986 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
18989 active-file = *active-line
18990 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
18992 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
18995 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
18996 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
18997 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
19000 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
19002 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
19003 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
19004 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
19005 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
19006 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
19007 clear if the posting could not be completed.
19009 There should be no result data from this function.
19014 @node Optional Backend Functions
19015 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
19019 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
19021 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
19022 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
19023 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
19025 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
19026 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
19027 former is in the same format as the data from
19028 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
19029 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
19032 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
19036 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
19038 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
19039 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
19040 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
19041 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
19042 should return the (altered) group info.
19044 There should be no result data from this function.
19047 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
19049 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
19050 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
19051 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
19052 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
19053 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
19054 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
19055 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
19056 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
19058 There should be no result data from this function.
19061 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
19063 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
19064 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
19065 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
19066 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
19067 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
19069 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
19070 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
19071 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
19074 There should be no result data from this function.
19077 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
19079 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
19080 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
19081 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
19082 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
19083 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
19084 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
19085 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
19087 There should be no result data from this function.
19090 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
19092 The result data from this function should be a description of
19096 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
19098 description = <text>
19101 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
19103 The result data from this function should be the description of all
19104 groups available on the server.
19107 description-buffer = *description-line
19111 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
19113 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
19114 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
19115 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
19118 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19120 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
19122 There should be no return data.
19125 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
19127 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
19128 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
19129 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
19130 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
19131 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
19134 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
19137 There should be no result data returned.
19140 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
19143 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
19144 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
19146 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
19147 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
19148 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
19149 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
19150 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
19151 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
19153 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
19154 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
19157 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19158 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19160 There should be no data returned.
19163 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
19165 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
19166 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
19167 this function in short order.
19169 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19170 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19172 There should be no data returned.
19175 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
19177 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
19178 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
19180 There should be no data returned.
19183 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
19185 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
19186 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
19187 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
19189 There should be no data returned.
19192 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
19194 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
19195 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
19197 There should be no data returned.
19202 @node Error Messaging
19203 @subsubsection Error Messaging
19205 @findex nnheader-report
19206 @findex nnheader-get-report
19207 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
19208 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
19209 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
19210 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
19211 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
19212 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
19215 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
19217 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
19220 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
19221 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
19222 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
19223 takes one argument---the server symbol.
19225 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
19226 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
19227 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
19230 @node Writing New Backends
19231 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
19233 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
19234 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
19235 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
19236 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
19237 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
19240 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
19241 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
19242 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
19244 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
19245 package called @code{nnoo}.
19247 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
19248 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
19254 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
19255 parameters. For instance:
19258 (nnoo-declare nndir
19262 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
19263 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
19266 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
19267 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
19268 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
19270 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
19271 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
19272 a function in those backends.
19275 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19276 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19277 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19280 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
19281 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
19282 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
19284 @item nnoo-define-basics
19285 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
19289 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19293 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
19294 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
19295 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
19297 @item nnoo-map-functions
19298 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
19299 functions from the parent backends.
19302 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19303 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19304 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
19307 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
19308 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
19309 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
19310 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
19313 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
19314 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
19315 haven't already been defined.
19321 nnmh-request-newgroups)
19325 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
19326 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
19327 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
19332 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
19335 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
19336 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19340 (require 'nnheader)
19344 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
19346 (nnoo-declare nndir
19349 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19350 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19351 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19353 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
19354 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
19357 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
19358 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
19359 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
19361 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
19362 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
19364 ;;; Interface functions.
19366 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19368 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
19369 (setq nndir-directory
19370 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
19372 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
19373 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
19374 (push `(nndir-current-group
19375 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19377 (push `(nndir-top-directory
19378 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19380 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
19382 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19383 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19384 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19385 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
19386 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
19390 nnmh-status-message
19392 nnmh-request-newgroups))
19398 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19399 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19401 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
19402 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
19403 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
19404 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
19406 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
19407 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
19412 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
19415 The abilities can be:
19419 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
19421 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
19423 This backend supports both mail and news.
19425 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19428 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19429 articles and groups.
19431 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19432 true for almost all backends.
19433 @item prompt-address
19434 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19435 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19436 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19440 @node Mail-like Backends
19441 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19443 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19444 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19445 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19446 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19449 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19450 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19451 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19454 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19455 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19458 This function takes four parameters.
19462 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19465 @item exit-function
19466 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19468 @item temp-directory
19469 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19472 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19473 performed for one group only.
19476 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19477 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19478 find the article number assigned to this article.
19480 The function also uses the following variables:
19481 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19482 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19483 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19484 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19488 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19489 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19493 @node Score File Syntax
19494 @subsection Score File Syntax
19496 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19497 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19498 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19500 Here's a typical score file:
19504 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19511 BNF definition of a score file:
19514 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19515 element = rule / atom
19516 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19517 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19518 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19519 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19521 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19522 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19523 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19524 date-header = "date"
19525 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19526 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19527 score = "nil" / <integer>
19528 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19529 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19530 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19531 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19532 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19533 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19534 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19535 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19536 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19537 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19538 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19539 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19540 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19541 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19542 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19543 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19544 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19545 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19546 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19547 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19548 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19549 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19550 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19551 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19552 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19553 eval = "eval" space <form>
19554 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19557 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19560 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19561 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19562 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19563 one looong line, then that's ok.
19565 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19566 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19570 @subsection Headers
19572 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19573 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19574 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19575 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19577 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19578 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19579 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19580 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19581 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19582 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19583 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19585 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19586 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19587 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
19588 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19589 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19591 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
19598 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19599 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19601 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19602 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19603 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19604 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19606 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19610 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19613 is transformed into
19616 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19619 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19620 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19623 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19626 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19627 is slightly tricky:
19630 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19636 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19639 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19645 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19652 and is equal to the previous range.
19654 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19655 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19656 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19660 range = simple-range / normal-range
19661 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19662 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19663 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19664 number *[ " " contents ]
19667 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19668 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19669 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19670 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19671 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19676 @subsection Group Info
19678 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19679 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19680 describes the group.
19682 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19683 second is a more complex one:
19686 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
19688 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19689 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19691 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19694 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19695 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19696 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19697 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19698 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19699 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19700 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19701 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19702 this section is about.
19704 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19705 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19706 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19708 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19711 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19712 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19713 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19714 group = quote <string> quote
19715 ralevel = rank / level
19716 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19717 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19718 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19720 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19721 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19722 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19723 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19726 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19727 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19730 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19731 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19734 @item gnus-info-group
19735 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19736 @findex gnus-info-group
19737 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19738 Get/set the group name.
19740 @item gnus-info-rank
19741 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19742 @findex gnus-info-rank
19743 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19744 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19746 @item gnus-info-level
19747 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19748 @findex gnus-info-level
19749 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19750 Get/set the group level.
19752 @item gnus-info-score
19753 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19754 @findex gnus-info-score
19755 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19756 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19758 @item gnus-info-read
19759 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19760 @findex gnus-info-read
19761 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19762 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19764 @item gnus-info-marks
19765 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19766 @findex gnus-info-marks
19767 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19768 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19770 @item gnus-info-method
19771 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19772 @findex gnus-info-method
19773 @findex gnus-info-set-method
19774 Get/set the group select method.
19776 @item gnus-info-params
19777 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
19778 @findex gnus-info-params
19779 @findex gnus-info-set-params
19780 Get/set the group parameters.
19783 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
19784 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
19786 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
19787 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
19788 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
19789 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
19792 @node Extended Interactive
19793 @subsection Extended Interactive
19794 @cindex interactive
19795 @findex gnus-interactive
19797 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
19798 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
19799 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
19802 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
19803 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
19808 The best thing to do would have been to implement
19809 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
19810 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
19811 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
19812 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
19813 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
19814 @code{interactive}.
19816 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
19821 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
19822 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
19826 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
19827 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
19828 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
19831 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
19835 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
19839 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
19845 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
19846 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
19850 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
19851 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
19852 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
19854 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
19855 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
19856 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
19857 Gnus, that's very useful.
19859 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
19860 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
19861 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
19862 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
19863 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
19864 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
19865 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
19866 following function:
19869 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
19873 (,function ,@@args))
19877 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
19878 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
19879 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
19882 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
19883 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
19884 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
19886 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
19887 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
19888 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
19891 @node Various File Formats
19892 @subsection Various File Formats
19895 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
19896 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
19900 @node Active File Format
19901 @subsubsection Active File Format
19903 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
19904 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
19907 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
19910 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
19911 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
19912 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
19913 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
19914 no.general 1000 900 y
19917 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
19920 active = *group-line
19921 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
19922 group = <non-white-space string>
19924 high-number = <non-negative integer>
19925 low-number = <positive integer>
19926 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
19929 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
19930 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
19933 @node Newsgroups File Format
19934 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
19936 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
19937 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
19938 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
19941 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
19942 Here's the definition:
19946 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
19947 group = <non-white-space string>
19949 description = <string>
19954 @node Emacs for Heathens
19955 @section Emacs for Heathens
19957 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
19958 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
19959 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
19960 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
19961 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
19962 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
19963 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
19967 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
19968 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
19973 @subsection Keystrokes
19977 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
19980 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
19983 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
19984 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
19985 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
19986 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
19987 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
19988 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
19990 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
19991 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
19992 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
19993 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
19994 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
19995 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
19996 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
19998 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
19999 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
20000 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
20001 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
20002 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
20003 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
20004 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
20006 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
20007 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
20008 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
20009 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
20010 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
20016 @subsection Emacs Lisp
20018 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
20019 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
20020 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
20021 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
20023 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
20024 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
20025 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
20026 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
20027 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
20028 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
20029 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
20032 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
20033 write the following:
20036 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
20039 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
20040 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
20041 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
20044 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
20045 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
20046 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
20047 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
20048 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
20050 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
20051 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
20052 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
20056 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
20060 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
20063 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
20064 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
20067 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
20070 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
20071 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
20074 @include gnus-faq.texi