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4 @settitle Semi-gnus 6.7.8 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The news reader gnus.
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262 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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271 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
273 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
274 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
275 are preserved on all copies.
277 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
278 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
279 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
280 permission notice identical to this one.
282 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
283 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
292 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
294 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
297 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
298 are preserved on all copies.
301 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
302 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
303 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
304 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
308 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
309 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
310 permission notice identical to this one.
312 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
313 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
319 @title Semi-gnus 6.7.8 Manual
321 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
324 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
325 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
327 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
328 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
329 are preserved on all copies.
331 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
332 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
333 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
334 permission notice identical to this one.
336 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
337 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
346 @top The gnus Newsreader
350 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
351 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
352 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
355 Semi-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So Semi-gnus
356 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
357 other various kinds of formats. Semi-gnus also supports
358 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
359 API. So Semi-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
360 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
362 This manual corresponds to Semi-Gnus 6.7.8
373 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
374 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
376 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
377 being accused of plagiarism:
379 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
380 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
381 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
382 even read news with it!
384 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
385 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
386 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
387 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
388 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
395 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
396 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
397 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
398 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
399 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
400 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
401 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
402 * Various:: General purpose settings.
403 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
404 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
405 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
406 * Key Index:: Key Index.
410 @chapter Starting gnus
415 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
416 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
419 @findex gnus-other-frame
420 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
421 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
422 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
424 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
425 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
426 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
428 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
429 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
432 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
433 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
434 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
435 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
436 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
437 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
438 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
439 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
440 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
441 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
442 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
446 @node Finding the News
447 @section Finding the News
450 @vindex gnus-select-method
452 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
453 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
454 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
455 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are foreign
458 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
459 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
462 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
465 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
468 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
471 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
472 certainly be much faster.
474 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
476 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
477 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
478 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
479 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
480 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
481 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an
482 @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
484 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
485 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
486 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
487 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
489 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
490 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
491 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
492 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
493 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
494 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
496 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
498 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
499 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
500 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
501 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
502 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
503 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
505 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
507 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
508 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
509 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
510 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
511 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
512 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
515 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
516 would typically set this variable to
519 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
524 @section The First Time
525 @cindex first time usage
527 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
528 be subscribed by default.
530 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
531 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
532 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
533 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
536 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
537 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
538 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
540 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
541 help you with most common problems.
543 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
544 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
548 @node The Server is Down
549 @section The Server is Down
550 @cindex server errors
552 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
553 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
554 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
556 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
557 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
558 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
559 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
560 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
561 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
562 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
564 @findex gnus-no-server
565 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
567 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
568 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
569 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
570 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
571 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
572 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
577 @section Slave Gnusae
580 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
581 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if
582 you are using the two different gnusae to read from two different
583 servers), that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
585 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
588 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
589 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and @dfn{slaves}.
590 (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have taken out a
591 copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in conjunction
592 with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to me. Usage of
593 the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer Applications})
594 will be much more expensive, of course.)
596 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
597 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
598 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
599 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
600 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
601 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
602 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
603 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
605 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
606 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
609 @node Fetching a Group
610 @section Fetching a Group
611 @cindex fetching a group
613 @findex gnus-fetch-group
614 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
615 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
616 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
617 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
618 It takes the group name as a parameter.
626 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
627 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
628 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
629 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
630 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
631 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
632 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
633 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
634 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
637 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
638 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
639 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
643 @node Checking New Groups
644 @subsection Checking New Groups
646 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
647 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
648 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
649 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
650 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
651 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
652 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
653 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
654 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
655 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
657 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
658 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
659 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
660 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
661 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't work.
662 I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server supports
663 @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't. You could
664 @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see whether it lists
665 @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If it does, then it
666 might work. (But there are servers that lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} without
667 supporting the function properly.)
669 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
670 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
671 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
672 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
673 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
674 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
677 @node Subscription Methods
678 @subsection Subscription Methods
680 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
681 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
682 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
684 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
685 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
687 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
691 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
693 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
694 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
695 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
697 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
698 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
699 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
700 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
702 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
703 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
704 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
706 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
707 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
708 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
709 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
710 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
711 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
712 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
713 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
714 up. Or something like that.
716 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
718 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask you
719 about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe to
720 will be subscribed hierarchically.
722 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
723 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
728 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
729 A closely related variable is
730 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
731 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
732 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
733 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
736 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
737 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
738 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
739 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
742 @node Filtering New Groups
743 @subsection Filtering New Groups
745 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
746 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
747 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
750 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
753 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
754 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
755 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
756 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
757 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
758 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
759 subscribing these groups.
760 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
761 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
763 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
764 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
765 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
766 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
767 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
768 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
769 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
770 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
772 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
773 Yet another variable that meddles here is
774 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
775 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
776 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
777 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
778 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
779 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
780 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
781 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
783 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
784 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
787 @node Changing Servers
788 @section Changing Servers
789 @cindex changing servers
791 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
792 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
793 very flaky and you want to use another.
795 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
796 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
800 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
801 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
802 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
803 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
806 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
807 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
808 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
809 functions more than absolutely necessary.
811 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
812 @findex gnus-change-server
813 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
814 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
815 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
816 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
817 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
819 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
820 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
821 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
822 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
823 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
825 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
826 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
827 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
828 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
829 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
830 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
834 @section Startup Files
835 @cindex startup files
840 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
841 information is traditionally stored in this file.
843 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{GNUS}. In addition to
844 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
845 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
846 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
847 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{GNUS} would read whichever one of these
848 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
849 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
851 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
852 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
853 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
854 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
855 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
856 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
858 In addition, gnus does not change anything. Hail comrade Lars!
860 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
861 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
862 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
863 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
864 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
865 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
867 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
868 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
869 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
870 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
871 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
872 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
873 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
874 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
875 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
876 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
877 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
878 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
880 @vindex gnus-startup-file
881 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
882 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
883 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
885 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
886 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
887 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
888 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
889 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
890 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
891 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
892 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
893 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
894 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
897 (defun turn-off-backup ()
898 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
900 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
901 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
904 @vindex gnus-init-file
905 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
906 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
907 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
908 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
909 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
910 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
911 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
912 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
913 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
922 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
923 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
924 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
925 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
926 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
929 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
930 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file
933 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
934 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
935 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
937 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
938 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
939 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
940 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
941 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
942 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
944 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
945 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
946 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
949 @node The Active File
950 @section The Active File
952 @cindex ignored groups
954 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
955 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
956 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
958 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
959 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
960 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
961 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
962 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
963 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
964 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
967 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
968 @c if you set it to anything else.
970 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
972 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
973 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
974 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
976 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
977 you actually subscribe to.
979 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
980 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
981 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
982 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
984 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
985 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
986 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
987 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
988 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
989 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
991 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
992 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
993 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
994 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
995 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
996 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
998 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
999 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1001 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1002 secondary select methods.
1005 @node Startup Variables
1006 @section Startup Variables
1010 @item gnus-load-hook
1011 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1012 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1013 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1014 times you start gnus.
1016 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1017 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1018 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1020 @item gnus-startup-hook
1021 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1022 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1024 @item gnus-started-hook
1025 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1026 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1029 @item gnus-started-hook
1030 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1031 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1032 generating the group buffer.
1034 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1035 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1036 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1037 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1038 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1039 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1040 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1041 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1043 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1044 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1045 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1046 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1047 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1048 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1050 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1051 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1052 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1054 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1055 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1056 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1058 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1059 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1060 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1061 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1066 @node The Group Buffer
1067 @chapter The Group Buffer
1068 @cindex group buffer
1070 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1071 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1072 long as gnus is active.
1076 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1077 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1078 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1079 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1080 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1081 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1082 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1083 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1089 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1090 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1091 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1092 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1093 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1094 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1095 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1096 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1097 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1098 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1099 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1100 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1101 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1102 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1103 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1104 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1105 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1109 @node Group Buffer Format
1110 @section Group Buffer Format
1113 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1114 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1115 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1119 @node Group Line Specification
1120 @subsection Group Line Specification
1121 @cindex group buffer format
1123 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1124 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1126 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1129 25: news.announce.newusers
1130 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1135 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1136 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1137 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1138 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1140 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1141 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1142 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1143 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1144 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1145 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1147 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1149 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1150 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1151 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1152 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1155 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1156 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1157 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1159 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1164 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1167 Whether the group is subscribed.
1170 Level of subscribedness.
1173 Number of unread articles.
1176 Number of dormant articles.
1179 Number of ticked articles.
1182 Number of read articles.
1185 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1186 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1189 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1192 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1201 Newsgroup description.
1204 @samp{m} if moderated.
1207 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1216 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1220 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1223 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1224 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1225 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1226 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1227 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1230 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1232 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1236 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1240 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1241 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1242 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1243 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1244 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1245 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1250 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1251 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1252 group, or a bogus native group.
1255 @node Group Modeline Specification
1256 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1257 @cindex group modeline
1259 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1260 The mode line can be changed by setting
1261 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1262 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1266 The native news server.
1268 The native select method.
1272 @node Group Highlighting
1273 @subsection Group Highlighting
1274 @cindex highlighting
1275 @cindex group highlighting
1277 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1278 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1279 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1280 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1281 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1283 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1287 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1288 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1289 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1290 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1291 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1293 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1294 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1295 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1296 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1297 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1298 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1301 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1303 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1310 The number of unread articles in the group.
1314 Whether the group is a mail group.
1316 The level of the group.
1318 The score of the group.
1320 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1322 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1323 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1325 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1326 topic being inserted.
1329 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1330 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1331 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1333 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1334 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1335 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1336 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1337 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1340 @node Group Maneuvering
1341 @section Group Maneuvering
1342 @cindex group movement
1344 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1345 expected, hopefully.
1351 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1352 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1353 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1359 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1360 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1361 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1365 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1366 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1370 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1371 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1375 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1376 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1377 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1381 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1382 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1383 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1386 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1392 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1393 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1394 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1399 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1400 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1401 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1405 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1406 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1407 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1410 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1411 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1412 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1413 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1417 @node Selecting a Group
1418 @section Selecting a Group
1419 @cindex group selection
1424 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1425 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1426 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1427 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1428 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1429 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1430 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1431 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1432 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1433 negative, gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1437 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1438 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1439 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1440 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1441 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1445 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1446 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1447 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1448 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1449 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1450 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1451 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1452 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1453 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1454 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1457 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1458 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1459 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1460 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1461 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1464 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1465 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1466 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1467 doing any processing of its contents
1468 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1469 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1470 manner will have no permanent effects.
1474 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1475 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1476 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1477 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1478 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1479 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1480 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1481 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1484 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1485 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1486 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1487 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1492 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1493 full summary buffer.
1496 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1499 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1503 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1504 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1505 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1509 @node Subscription Commands
1510 @section Subscription Commands
1511 @cindex subscription
1519 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1520 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1521 Toggle subscription to the current group
1522 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1528 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1529 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1530 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1531 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1537 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1538 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1539 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1545 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1546 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1549 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1550 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1551 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1552 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1553 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1559 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1560 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1564 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1565 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1568 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1569 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1570 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1571 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1572 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1573 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1574 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1575 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1576 @file{.newsrc} file.
1580 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1590 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1591 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1592 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1593 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1594 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1595 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group
1596 from the group buffer.
1600 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1601 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1602 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1606 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1607 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1608 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1610 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1611 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1612 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1613 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1614 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1615 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1622 @section Group Levels
1626 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1627 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1628 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1629 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1630 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1632 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1638 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1639 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1640 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1641 prompted for a level.
1644 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1645 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1646 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1647 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1648 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1649 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1650 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1651 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1652 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1653 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1654 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1655 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1656 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1657 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1658 reasons of efficiency.
1660 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1661 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1663 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1664 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1665 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1667 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1668 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1669 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1670 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1671 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1672 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1673 relevant valid ranges.
1675 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1676 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1677 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1678 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1679 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1680 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1683 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1684 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1685 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1688 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1689 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1690 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1691 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1694 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1695 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1696 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1697 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1699 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1700 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1701 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1702 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1703 to 5. The default is 6.
1707 @section Group Score
1712 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1713 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1714 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1717 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1718 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1719 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1720 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1721 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1722 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1723 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1725 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1726 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1727 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1728 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1729 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1730 action after each summary exit, you can add
1731 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1732 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1733 slow things down somewhat.
1736 @node Marking Groups
1737 @section Marking Groups
1738 @cindex marking groups
1740 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1741 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1742 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1743 bidding on those groups.
1745 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1746 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1747 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1755 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1756 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1762 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1763 Remove the mark from the current group
1764 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1768 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1769 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1773 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1774 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1778 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1779 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1783 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1784 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1785 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1788 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1790 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1791 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1792 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1793 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1794 the command to be executed.
1797 @node Foreign Groups
1798 @section Foreign Groups
1799 @cindex foreign groups
1801 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1802 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1803 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1804 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1811 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1812 @cindex making groups
1813 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1814 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1815 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1819 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1820 @cindex renaming groups
1821 Rename the current group to something else
1822 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1823 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1829 @findex gnus-group-customize
1830 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1834 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1835 @cindex renaming groups
1836 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1837 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1841 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1842 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1843 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1847 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1848 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1849 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1853 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1855 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1856 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1861 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1862 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1866 @cindex (ding) archive
1867 @cindex archive group
1868 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1869 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1870 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1871 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1872 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1873 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1874 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1878 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1880 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1881 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1882 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1883 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1887 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1889 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1890 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1891 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1895 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1896 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1898 Make a group based on some file or other
1899 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1900 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1901 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1902 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1903 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1904 this command without a prefix, gnus will guess at the file type.
1905 @xref{Document Groups}.
1909 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1914 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1915 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1916 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1917 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1918 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1919 @xref{Web Searches}.
1921 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1922 to a particular group by using a match string like
1923 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1926 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1927 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1928 This function will delete the current group
1929 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1930 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1931 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1932 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1933 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1937 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1938 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1939 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1943 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1944 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1945 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1948 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1951 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1952 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1953 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1954 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1955 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1956 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1960 @node Group Parameters
1961 @section Group Parameters
1962 @cindex group parameters
1964 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1965 Here's an example group parameter list:
1968 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1972 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing
1973 before the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value.
1974 All the parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs,
1975 which are not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
1977 The following group parameters can be used:
1982 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
1985 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
1988 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
1989 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
1990 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
1991 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
1992 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
1994 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1995 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1996 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1997 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1998 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1999 list address instead.
2003 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2006 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2009 It is totally ignored
2010 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2011 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2013 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2014 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2015 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2016 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2017 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2019 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2020 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2021 sending the message.
2025 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2026 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2027 of whether it has any unread articles.
2029 @item broken-reply-to
2030 @cindex broken-reply-to
2031 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2032 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2033 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2034 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2035 broken behavior. So there!
2039 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2040 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2044 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2045 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2046 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2051 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2052 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2053 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2054 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2055 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2056 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2057 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2061 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2062 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2063 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2066 @cindex total-expire
2067 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2068 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2069 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2070 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2075 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2076 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2077 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2078 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2079 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2080 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2083 @cindex score file group parameter
2084 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2085 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2086 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2089 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2090 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2091 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2092 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2095 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2096 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2097 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2098 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2101 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2102 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2106 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2109 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2114 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2115 arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by gnus,
2116 but provide a place for you to store information on particular groups.
2118 @item @var{(variable form)}
2119 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2120 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2121 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2122 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2123 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2124 @code{eval}ed there.
2126 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2127 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2128 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2129 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2130 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2134 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2135 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2139 @node Listing Groups
2140 @section Listing Groups
2141 @cindex group listing
2143 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2151 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2152 List all groups that have unread articles
2153 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2154 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2155 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2156 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2163 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2164 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2165 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2166 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2167 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2168 unsubscribed groups).
2172 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2173 List all unread groups on a specific level
2174 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2175 with no unread articles.
2179 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2180 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2181 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2182 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2187 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2188 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2192 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2193 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2194 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2198 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2199 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2203 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2204 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2205 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2206 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2207 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2208 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2209 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2210 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2214 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2215 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2216 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2220 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2221 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2222 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2226 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2227 @cindex visible group parameter
2228 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2229 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2230 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2231 get the same effect.
2233 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2234 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2235 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2236 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2237 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2240 @node Sorting Groups
2241 @section Sorting Groups
2242 @cindex sorting groups
2244 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2245 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2246 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2247 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2248 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2249 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2254 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2255 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2256 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2258 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2259 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2260 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2262 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2263 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2264 Sort by group level.
2266 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2267 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2268 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2270 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2271 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2272 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2273 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2275 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2276 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2277 Sort by number of unread articles.
2279 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2280 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2281 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2286 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2287 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2291 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2292 some sorting criteria:
2296 @kindex G S a (Group)
2297 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2298 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2299 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2302 @kindex G S u (Group)
2303 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2304 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2305 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2308 @kindex G S l (Group)
2309 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2310 Sort the group buffer by group level
2311 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2314 @kindex G S v (Group)
2315 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2316 Sort the group buffer by group score
2317 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2320 @kindex G S r (Group)
2321 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2322 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2323 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2326 @kindex G S m (Group)
2327 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2328 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2329 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2333 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2335 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2339 @kindex G P a (Group)
2340 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2341 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2342 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2345 @kindex G P u (Group)
2346 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2347 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2348 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2351 @kindex G P l (Group)
2352 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2353 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2354 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2357 @kindex G P v (Group)
2358 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2359 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2360 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2363 @kindex G P r (Group)
2364 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2365 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2366 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2369 @kindex G P m (Group)
2370 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2371 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2372 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2378 @node Group Maintenance
2379 @section Group Maintenance
2380 @cindex bogus groups
2385 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2386 Find bogus groups and delete them
2387 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2391 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2392 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2393 If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2397 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2398 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2399 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2400 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2403 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2404 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2405 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2406 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2411 @node Browse Foreign Server
2412 @section Browse Foreign Server
2413 @cindex foreign servers
2414 @cindex browsing servers
2419 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2420 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2421 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2422 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2425 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2426 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2427 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2428 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2430 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2435 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2436 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2440 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2441 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2444 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2445 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2446 Enter the current group and display the first article
2447 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2450 @kindex RET (Browse)
2451 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2452 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2456 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2457 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2458 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2464 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2465 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2469 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2470 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2471 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2476 @section Exiting gnus
2477 @cindex exiting gnus
2479 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
2484 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2485 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit
2486 gnus, but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure
2487 why this is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2491 @findex gnus-group-exit
2492 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2493 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2497 @findex gnus-group-quit
2498 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files
2499 (@code{gnus-group-quit}). The dribble file will be saved, though
2500 (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2503 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2504 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2505 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
2506 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
2507 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2512 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2513 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2514 trying to customize meta-variables.
2519 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2520 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2521 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2527 @section Group Topics
2530 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2531 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2532 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2533 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2534 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2535 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2539 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2540 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2551 2: alt.religion.emacs
2554 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2556 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2557 13: comp.sources.unix
2560 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2562 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2563 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2564 is a toggling command.)
2566 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2567 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2568 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2569 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2572 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2573 the hook for the group mode:
2576 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2580 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2581 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2582 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2583 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2584 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2588 @node Topic Variables
2589 @subsection Topic Variables
2590 @cindex topic variables
2592 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2593 really neat, I think.
2595 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2596 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2597 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2610 Number of groups in the topic.
2612 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2614 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2617 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2618 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2619 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2622 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2623 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2625 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2626 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2627 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2630 @node Topic Commands
2631 @subsection Topic Commands
2632 @cindex topic commands
2634 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2635 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2636 definitions slightly.
2642 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2643 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2644 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2648 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2649 Move the current group to some other topic
2650 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2651 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2655 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2656 Copy the current group to some other topic
2657 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2658 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2662 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2663 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2664 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2665 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics.
2666 The command uses the process/prefix convention
2667 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2671 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2672 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2673 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2677 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2678 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2679 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2683 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2684 Toggle hiding empty topics
2685 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2689 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2690 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2691 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2694 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2695 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2696 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2697 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2701 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2703 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2704 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2705 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2706 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2707 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2708 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2711 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2712 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2713 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2714 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2715 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2719 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2720 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2721 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2725 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2726 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2727 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2732 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2733 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2736 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2737 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2738 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2742 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2743 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2744 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2748 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2749 @cindex group parameters
2750 @cindex topic parameters
2752 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2753 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2759 @subsection Topic Sorting
2760 @cindex topic sorting
2762 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2768 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2769 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2770 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2771 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2774 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2775 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2776 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2777 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2780 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2781 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2782 Sort the current topic by group level
2783 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2786 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2787 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2788 Sort the current topic by group score
2789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2792 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2793 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2794 Sort the current topic by group rank
2795 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2798 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2799 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2800 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2801 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2805 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2808 @node Topic Topology
2809 @subsection Topic Topology
2810 @cindex topic topology
2813 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2819 2: alt.religion.emacs
2822 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2824 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2825 13: comp.sources.unix
2828 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2829 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2830 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2835 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2836 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2840 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2841 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2842 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2843 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2844 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2845 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2847 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2848 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2849 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2852 @node Topic Parameters
2853 @subsection Topic Parameters
2854 @cindex topic parameters
2856 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2857 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2858 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2860 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2861 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2862 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2863 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2869 2: alt.religion.emacs
2873 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2875 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2876 13: comp.sources.unix
2880 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2881 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2882 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2883 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2884 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2885 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2887 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2888 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2889 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2890 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2891 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2893 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2894 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2895 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2896 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2897 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2898 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2899 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2900 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2903 @node Misc Group Stuff
2904 @section Misc Group Stuff
2907 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2908 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
2909 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2910 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
2917 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2918 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2919 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2923 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2924 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2925 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2929 @findex gnus-group-mail
2930 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2934 Variables for the group buffer:
2938 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2939 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2940 is called after the group buffer has been
2943 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2944 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2945 is called after the group buffer is
2946 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2949 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
2950 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2951 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
2952 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
2954 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2955 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2956 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2957 whether they are empty or not.
2962 @node Scanning New Messages
2963 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2964 @cindex new messages
2965 @cindex scanning new news
2971 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2972 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2973 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2974 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2975 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2976 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2981 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2982 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2983 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2984 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2985 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2986 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2987 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2989 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2990 @cindex activating groups
2992 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2993 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2998 @findex gnus-group-restart
2999 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3000 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3001 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3005 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3006 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3008 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3009 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3013 @node Group Information
3014 @subsection Group Information
3015 @cindex group information
3016 @cindex information on groups
3023 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3024 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3027 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3028 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3029 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3030 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3031 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3032 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3033 for fetching the file.
3035 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3036 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3040 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3042 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3043 @cindex describing groups
3044 @cindex group description
3045 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3046 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3047 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3051 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3052 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3053 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3060 @findex gnus-version
3061 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3065 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3066 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3069 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3072 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3073 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3077 @node Group Timestamp
3078 @subsection Group Timestamp
3080 @cindex group timestamps
3082 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3083 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3084 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3087 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3090 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3092 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3093 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3096 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3097 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3100 This will result in lines looking like:
3103 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3104 0: custom 19961002T012713
3107 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3108 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3112 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3113 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3118 @subsection File Commands
3119 @cindex file commands
3125 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3126 @vindex gnus-init-file
3127 @cindex reading init file
3128 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3129 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3133 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3134 @cindex saving .newsrc
3135 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3136 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3137 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3140 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3141 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3142 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3147 @node The Summary Buffer
3148 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3149 @cindex summary buffer
3151 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3152 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3154 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3155 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3157 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3160 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3161 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3162 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3163 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3164 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3165 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3166 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3167 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3168 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3169 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3170 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3171 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3172 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3173 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3174 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3175 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3176 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3177 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3178 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3179 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3180 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3181 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3182 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3183 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3184 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3185 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3186 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3190 @node Summary Buffer Format
3191 @section Summary Buffer Format
3192 @cindex summary buffer format
3196 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3197 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3198 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3204 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3205 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3206 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3209 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3210 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3211 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3212 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3213 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3214 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3215 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3216 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3217 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3218 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3219 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3220 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3221 other function instead.
3223 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3224 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3225 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3226 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3229 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3230 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3232 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3233 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3234 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3235 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3236 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3238 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3240 The following format specification characters are understood:
3248 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3249 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3250 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3252 Full @code{From} header.
3254 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3256 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3257 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3258 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3259 may be more thorough.
3261 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3264 Number of lines in the article.
3266 Number of characters in the article.
3268 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3270 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3271 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3273 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3274 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3276 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3277 for adopted articles.
3279 One space for each thread level.
3281 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3286 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3287 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3291 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3293 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3294 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3295 default level. If the difference between
3296 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3297 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3305 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3307 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3313 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3314 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3316 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3317 article has any children.
3323 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3324 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3325 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3326 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3327 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3328 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3331 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3332 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
3333 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3334 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3335 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3336 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3338 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3339 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3341 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
3344 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3345 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3347 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3348 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3349 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3350 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3352 Here are the elements you can play with:
3358 Unprefixed group name.
3360 Current article number.
3362 Current article score.
3366 Number of unread articles in this group.
3368 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3371 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3372 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3373 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3374 and no unselected ones.
3376 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3377 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3379 Subject of the current article.
3381 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3383 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3385 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3387 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3389 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3391 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3395 @node Summary Highlighting
3396 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3400 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3401 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3402 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3403 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3404 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3406 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3407 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3408 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3409 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3411 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3412 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3413 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3414 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3416 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3417 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3418 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3419 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3420 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3421 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3423 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3424 ((> score default) . bold))
3426 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3427 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3431 @node Summary Maneuvering
3432 @section Summary Maneuvering
3433 @cindex summary movement
3435 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3436 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3438 None of these commands select articles.
3443 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3444 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3445 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3446 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3447 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3451 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3452 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3453 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3454 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3455 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3460 @kindex G j (Summary)
3461 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3462 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3463 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3466 @kindex G g (Summary)
3467 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3468 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3469 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3472 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3473 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3474 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3475 to the group buffer.
3477 Variables related to summary movement:
3481 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3482 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3483 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3484 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
3485 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3486 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3487 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
3488 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3489 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
3490 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3491 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3492 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3493 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3494 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3496 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3497 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3498 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3499 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3500 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3501 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3502 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3504 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3505 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3506 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3507 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3508 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3510 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3511 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3512 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3513 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3514 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3515 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3516 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3517 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3523 @node Choosing Articles
3524 @section Choosing Articles
3525 @cindex selecting articles
3528 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3529 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3533 @node Choosing Commands
3534 @subsection Choosing Commands
3536 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3537 and they all select and display an article.
3541 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3542 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3543 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3544 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3549 @kindex G n (Summary)
3550 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3551 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3552 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3557 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3558 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3559 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3564 @kindex G N (Summary)
3565 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3566 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3571 @kindex G P (Summary)
3572 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3573 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3576 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3577 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3578 Go to the next article with the same subject
3579 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3582 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3583 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3584 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3585 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3589 @kindex G f (Summary)
3591 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3592 Go to the first unread article
3593 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3597 @kindex G b (Summary)
3599 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3600 Go to the article with the highest score
3601 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3606 @kindex G l (Summary)
3607 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3608 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3611 @kindex G o (Summary)
3612 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3614 @cindex article history
3615 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3616 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3617 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3618 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3619 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3620 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3624 @node Choosing Variables
3625 @subsection Choosing Variables
3627 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3630 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3631 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3632 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3633 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3634 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3635 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3637 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3638 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3639 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3640 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3642 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3643 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3644 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3645 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3646 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3647 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3648 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3649 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3650 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3651 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3652 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3653 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3654 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3655 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3660 @node Paging the Article
3661 @section Scrolling the Article
3662 @cindex article scrolling
3667 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3668 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3669 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3670 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3671 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3674 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3675 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3676 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3679 @kindex RET (Summary)
3680 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3681 Scroll the current article one line forward
3682 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3686 @kindex A g (Summary)
3688 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3689 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3690 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3691 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3692 the way it came from the server.
3697 @kindex A < (Summary)
3698 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3699 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3700 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3705 @kindex A > (Summary)
3706 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3707 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3711 @kindex A s (Summary)
3713 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3714 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3715 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3719 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3720 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3725 @node Reply Followup and Post
3726 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3729 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3730 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3734 @node Summary Mail Commands
3735 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3737 @cindex composing mail
3739 Commands for composing a mail message:
3745 @kindex S r (Summary)
3747 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3748 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3749 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3750 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3751 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3756 @kindex S R (Summary)
3757 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3758 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3759 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3760 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3761 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3764 @kindex S w (Summary)
3765 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3766 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3767 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3768 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3769 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3772 @kindex S W (Summary)
3773 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3774 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3775 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3776 the process/prefix convention.
3779 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3780 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3781 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3782 Forward the current article to some other person
3783 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3784 headers of the forwarded article.
3789 @kindex S m (Summary)
3790 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3791 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3792 Send a mail to some other person
3793 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3796 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3797 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3798 @cindex bouncing mail
3799 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3800 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3801 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3802 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3803 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3804 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
3805 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3806 very well fail, though.
3809 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3810 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3811 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3812 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3813 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3814 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3815 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3816 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3817 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3818 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3820 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3821 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3822 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3823 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3824 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung mu
\e(I_
\e(B sein!
3826 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3827 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3830 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3831 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3832 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3833 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3834 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3837 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3838 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3839 @cindex crossposting
3840 @cindex excessive crossposting
3841 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3842 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3844 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3845 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3846 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3847 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3848 command understands the process/prefix convention
3849 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3853 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3856 @node Summary Post Commands
3857 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3859 @cindex composing news
3861 Commands for posting a news article:
3867 @kindex S p (Summary)
3868 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3869 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3870 Post an article to the current group
3871 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3876 @kindex S f (Summary)
3877 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3878 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3879 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3883 @kindex S F (Summary)
3885 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3886 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3887 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3888 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3889 process/prefix convention.
3892 @kindex S n (Summary)
3893 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3894 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3895 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3898 @kindex S N (Summary)
3899 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
3900 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3901 message through mail and include the original message
3902 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3903 the process/prefix convention.
3906 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3907 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3908 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3909 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3910 headers of the forwarded article.
3913 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3914 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3916 @cindex making digests
3917 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3918 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3919 process/prefix convention.
3922 @kindex S u (Summary)
3923 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3924 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3925 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3926 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3929 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3932 @node Canceling and Superseding
3933 @section Canceling Articles
3934 @cindex canceling articles
3935 @cindex superseding articles
3937 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3938 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3940 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3942 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3944 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3945 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3946 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3947 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3948 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3949 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3951 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3952 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3955 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
3956 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
3957 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
3959 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3960 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3961 your original article.
3963 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3965 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3966 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3967 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3970 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3971 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3972 have posted almost the same article twice.
3974 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3975 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3976 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3977 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3978 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3979 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3980 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3981 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3982 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3983 canceled/superseded.
3985 Just remember, kids: There is no `c' in `supersede'.
3988 @node Marking Articles
3989 @section Marking Articles
3990 @cindex article marking
3991 @cindex article ticking
3994 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3996 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3997 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3998 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4000 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4003 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4004 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4005 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4009 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4013 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4014 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4018 @node Unread Articles
4019 @subsection Unread Articles
4021 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4026 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4027 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4029 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4030 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4031 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4032 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4033 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4037 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4038 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4040 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4041 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4042 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4045 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4046 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4048 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4053 @subsection Read Articles
4054 @cindex expirable mark
4056 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4061 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4062 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4063 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4066 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4067 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4070 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4071 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4072 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4075 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4076 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4079 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4080 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4083 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4084 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4087 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4088 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4091 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4092 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4095 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4096 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4099 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4100 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4104 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4105 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4106 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4110 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4111 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4113 One more special mark, though:
4117 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4118 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4120 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4121 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4122 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4123 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at any time.
4128 @subsection Other Marks
4129 @cindex process mark
4132 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4138 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4139 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4140 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4141 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4142 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4145 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4146 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4147 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4148 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4151 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4152 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4153 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4156 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4157 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4158 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4159 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4162 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4163 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4164 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4165 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4166 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4169 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4170 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4171 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4172 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4173 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4174 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4178 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4179 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4180 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4182 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4183 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4184 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4188 @subsection Setting Marks
4189 @cindex setting marks
4191 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4196 @kindex M c (Summary)
4197 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4198 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4199 @cindex mark as unread
4200 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4201 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4207 @kindex M t (Summary)
4208 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4209 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4210 @xref{Article Caching}
4215 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4216 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4217 Mark the current article as dormant
4218 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4222 @kindex M d (Summary)
4224 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4225 Mark the current article as read
4226 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4230 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4231 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4232 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4237 @kindex M k (Summary)
4238 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4239 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4240 and then select the next unread article
4241 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4245 @kindex M K (Summary)
4246 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4247 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4248 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4249 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4252 @kindex M C (Summary)
4253 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4254 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4255 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4258 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4259 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4260 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4261 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4264 @kindex M H (Summary)
4265 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4266 Catchup the current group to point
4267 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4270 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4271 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4272 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4273 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4276 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4277 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4278 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4279 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4283 @kindex M e (Summary)
4285 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4286 Mark the current article as expirable
4287 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4290 @kindex M b (Summary)
4291 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4292 Set a bookmark in the current article
4293 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4296 @kindex M B (Summary)
4297 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4298 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4299 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4302 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4303 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4304 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4305 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4308 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4309 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4310 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4311 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4314 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4315 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4316 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4317 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4318 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4321 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4322 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4323 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4324 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4325 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4326 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4327 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4328 The default is @code{t}.
4331 @node Setting Process Marks
4332 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4333 @cindex setting process marks
4340 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4341 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4342 Mark the current article with the process mark
4343 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4344 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4348 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4349 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4350 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4351 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4354 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4355 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4356 Remove the process mark from all articles
4357 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4360 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4361 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4362 Invert the list of process marked articles
4363 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4366 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4367 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4368 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4369 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4372 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4373 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4374 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4377 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4379 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4380 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4383 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4384 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4385 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4386 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4389 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4390 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4391 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4392 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4395 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4396 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4397 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4400 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4401 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4402 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4403 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4406 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4407 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4408 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4411 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4412 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4413 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4414 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4417 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4418 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4419 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4420 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4423 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4424 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4425 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4426 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4429 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4430 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4431 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4432 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4441 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4442 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4443 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4446 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4447 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4448 additional articles.
4454 @kindex / / (Summary)
4455 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4456 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4457 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4460 @kindex / a (Summary)
4461 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4462 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4463 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4467 @kindex / u (Summary)
4469 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4470 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4471 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4472 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4473 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4476 @kindex / m (Summary)
4477 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4478 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4479 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4482 @kindex / t (Summary)
4483 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4484 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4485 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4486 articles younger than that number of days.
4489 @kindex / n (Summary)
4490 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4491 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4492 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4493 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4496 @kindex / w (Summary)
4497 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4498 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4499 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4503 @kindex / v (Summary)
4504 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4505 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4506 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4510 @kindex M S (Summary)
4511 @kindex / E (Summary)
4512 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4513 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4514 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4517 @kindex / D (Summary)
4518 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4519 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4520 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4523 @kindex / * (Summary)
4524 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4525 Include all cached articles in the limit
4526 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4529 @kindex / d (Summary)
4530 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4531 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4532 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4535 @kindex / T (Summary)
4536 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4537 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4540 @kindex / c (Summary)
4541 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4542 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4543 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4546 @kindex / C (Summary)
4547 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4548 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4549 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4550 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4558 @cindex article threading
4560 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4561 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4562 hierarchical fashion.
4564 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4565 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4566 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4567 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4568 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4569 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4570 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4572 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4576 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4579 A tree-like article structure.
4582 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4585 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4586 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4587 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4588 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4589 called loose threads.
4591 @item thread gathering
4592 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4594 @item sparse threads
4595 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4596 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4602 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4603 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4607 @node Customizing Threading
4608 @subsection Customizing Threading
4609 @cindex customizing threading
4612 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4613 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4614 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4615 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4620 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4623 @cindex loose threads
4626 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4627 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4628 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4629 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4630 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4631 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4633 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
4634 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
4635 There are four possible values:
4639 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4640 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4641 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4642 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4643 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4648 @cindex adopting articles
4653 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4654 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4655 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4656 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4659 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4660 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4661 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4662 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4663 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4664 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4665 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4668 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4669 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4670 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4674 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4675 display them after one another.
4678 Don't gather loose threads.
4681 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4682 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4683 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4684 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
4685 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4686 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4687 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4688 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4689 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4690 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
4691 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4693 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4694 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
4695 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4698 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4699 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4700 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4701 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4702 simplification is used.
4704 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4705 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4706 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4707 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4709 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4711 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4717 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4718 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4719 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4720 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4725 (mapconcat 'identity
4726 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4728 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4731 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4734 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4735 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4736 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4737 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4738 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4739 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4741 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4744 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4745 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4746 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4748 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4749 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4752 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4753 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4754 Remove excessive whitespace.
4757 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4760 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4761 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4762 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4763 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4764 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4765 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4766 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4767 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4769 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4770 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4771 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4772 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4773 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4774 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4775 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4776 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4777 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4781 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4782 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4783 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4784 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4786 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4787 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4788 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4791 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4795 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4796 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4802 @node Filling In Threads
4803 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4806 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4807 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4808 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4809 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
4810 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
4811 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
4812 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
4813 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
4814 old headers only works if the backend you are using carries overview
4815 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4816 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4817 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
4819 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4820 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4821 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4823 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4824 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4825 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4826 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4827 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4828 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4829 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
4830 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4831 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
4832 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
4833 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4834 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
4835 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4836 @code{nil} by default.
4841 @node More Threading
4842 @subsubsection More Threading
4845 @item gnus-show-threads
4846 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4847 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4848 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4849 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4850 slower and more awkward.
4852 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4853 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4854 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4857 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4858 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4859 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4860 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4861 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4862 threads are expunged.
4864 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4865 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4866 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4869 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4870 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4871 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4872 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4873 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4876 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4877 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4878 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4884 @node Low-Level Threading
4885 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4889 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4890 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4891 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4892 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
4893 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
4894 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
4896 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4897 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4898 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4899 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4900 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4901 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4902 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4903 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4904 meaningful. Here's one example:
4907 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4909 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4910 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4912 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4914 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4921 @node Thread Commands
4922 @subsection Thread Commands
4923 @cindex thread commands
4929 @kindex T k (Summary)
4930 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4931 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4932 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4933 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4934 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4939 @kindex T l (Summary)
4940 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4941 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4942 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4943 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4946 @kindex T i (Summary)
4947 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4948 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4949 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4952 @kindex T # (Summary)
4953 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4954 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4955 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4958 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4959 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4960 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4961 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4964 @kindex T T (Summary)
4965 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4966 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4969 @kindex T s (Summary)
4970 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4971 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4972 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4975 @kindex T h (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4977 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4980 @kindex T S (Summary)
4981 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4982 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4985 @kindex T H (Summary)
4986 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4987 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4990 @kindex T t (Summary)
4991 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4992 Re-thread the current article's thread
4993 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4994 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4997 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4998 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4999 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5000 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5004 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5005 understand the numeric prefix.
5010 @kindex T n (Summary)
5011 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5012 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5015 @kindex T p (Summary)
5016 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5017 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5020 @kindex T d (Summary)
5021 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5022 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5025 @kindex T u (Summary)
5026 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5027 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5030 @kindex T o (Summary)
5031 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5032 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5035 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5036 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5037 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5038 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5039 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5040 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5041 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5042 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5043 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5044 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5045 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5046 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5053 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5054 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5055 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5056 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5057 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5058 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5059 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5060 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5061 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5062 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5063 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5064 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5065 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5066 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5068 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5069 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5070 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5071 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5072 in the list. You should probably always include
5073 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5074 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5075 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5076 ascending article order.
5078 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5079 number, you could do something like:
5082 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5083 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5084 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5085 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5088 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5089 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5090 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5091 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5092 which the articles arrived.
5094 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5098 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5100 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5101 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5104 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5105 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5106 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5107 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5110 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5111 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5112 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5113 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5114 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5115 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5116 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5117 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5118 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5119 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5120 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5121 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5122 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5124 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5128 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5129 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5130 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5135 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5136 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5137 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5138 @cindex article pre-fetch
5141 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5142 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5143 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5144 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5145 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5147 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5148 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
5150 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5151 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5152 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5153 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5154 connection is blocked.
5156 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5157 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5158 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5159 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
5161 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5162 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5163 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5164 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5167 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5170 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5171 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5172 happen automatically.
5174 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5175 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5176 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5177 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5178 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5179 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5180 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5182 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5183 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5184 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5185 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5186 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5187 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5188 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5189 data structure as the only parameter.
5191 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
5192 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5195 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5196 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5197 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5198 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5201 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5204 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5205 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much. It's
5206 probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5208 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5209 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5210 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5211 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5215 Remove articles when they are read.
5218 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5221 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5223 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5224 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5225 from the next group.
5228 @node Article Caching
5229 @section Article Caching
5230 @cindex article caching
5233 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5234 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5235 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5236 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5237 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5239 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5241 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5242 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5243 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5244 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5245 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5246 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5247 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5248 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5250 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5251 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5252 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5253 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5254 as dormant, and don't worry.
5256 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5258 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5259 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5260 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5261 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5262 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5263 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5264 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5265 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5266 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5267 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5269 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5270 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5271 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5272 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5273 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5274 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5275 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5276 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5277 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5278 not then be downloaded by this command.
5280 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5281 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5282 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5283 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5284 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5285 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5286 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5289 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5290 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5291 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5292 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5293 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5294 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
5295 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5296 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5297 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5301 @node Persistent Articles
5302 @section Persistent Articles
5303 @cindex persistent articles
5305 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5306 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5307 useful in my opinion.
5309 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5310 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5311 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5312 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5313 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5314 the expiry going on at the news server.
5316 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5317 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5318 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5324 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5325 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5328 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5329 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5330 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5331 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5335 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5337 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5338 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5339 interested in persistent articles:
5342 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5346 @node Article Backlog
5347 @section Article Backlog
5349 @cindex article backlog
5351 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5352 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5353 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
5354 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5355 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5356 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5357 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
5358 increase memory usage some.
5360 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5361 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
5362 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5363 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
5364 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5365 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5366 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5368 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5371 @node Saving Articles
5372 @section Saving Articles
5373 @cindex saving articles
5375 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5376 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5377 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5378 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5379 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5381 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5382 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
5383 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5385 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5386 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5387 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5388 deleted before saving.
5394 @kindex O o (Summary)
5396 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5397 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5398 Save the current article using the default article saver
5399 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5402 @kindex O m (Summary)
5403 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5404 Save the current article in mail format
5405 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5408 @kindex O r (Summary)
5409 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5410 Save the current article in rmail format
5411 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5414 @kindex O f (Summary)
5415 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5416 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5417 Save the current article in plain file format
5418 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5421 @kindex O F (Summary)
5422 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5423 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5424 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5427 @kindex O b (Summary)
5428 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5429 Save the current article body in plain file format
5430 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5433 @kindex O h (Summary)
5434 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5435 Save the current article in mh folder format
5436 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5439 @kindex O v (Summary)
5440 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5441 Save the current article in a VM folder
5442 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5445 @kindex O p (Summary)
5446 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5447 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5448 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5451 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5452 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5453 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5454 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5455 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5456 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5457 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5458 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5459 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5460 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5461 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5462 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5466 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5467 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5468 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5469 functions below, or you can create your own.
5473 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5474 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5475 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5476 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5477 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5478 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5479 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5481 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5482 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5483 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5484 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5485 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5486 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5488 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5489 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5490 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5491 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5492 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5493 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5494 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5496 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5497 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5498 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5499 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5500 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5502 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5503 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5504 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5505 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5506 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5509 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5510 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5511 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5512 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5513 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5515 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5516 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5517 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5518 reader to use this setting.
5521 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5522 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5523 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5524 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5527 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5528 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5529 available functions that generate names:
5533 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5534 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5535 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5537 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5538 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5539 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5541 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5542 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5543 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5545 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5546 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5547 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5550 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5551 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp
5552 into the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would
5553 like to save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and
5554 articles related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable
5558 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5559 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5560 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5561 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5564 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5565 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5566 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5567 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5568 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5569 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5570 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5571 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5572 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5574 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5575 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5576 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5577 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5579 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5580 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5581 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file name.
5583 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5584 lots of mail groups called things like
5585 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5586 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5587 following will do just that:
5590 (defun my-save-name (group)
5591 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5592 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5594 (setq gnus-split-methods
5595 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5600 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5601 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5602 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5603 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5604 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5605 all the files in the top level directory
5606 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5607 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5608 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5609 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5611 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5612 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5613 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5614 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5615 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5618 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5622 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5623 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5626 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5627 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5628 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5629 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5632 @node Decoding Articles
5633 @section Decoding Articles
5634 @cindex decoding articles
5636 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5637 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5640 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5641 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5642 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5643 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5644 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5645 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5649 @cindex article series
5650 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5651 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5652 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5653 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5654 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5656 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5657 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5658 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5660 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
5661 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5662 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5664 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5665 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5666 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5669 @node Uuencoded Articles
5670 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5672 @cindex uuencoded articles
5677 @kindex X u (Summary)
5678 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5679 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5680 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5683 @kindex X U (Summary)
5684 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5685 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5686 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5689 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5690 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5691 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5694 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5695 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5696 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5697 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5701 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5702 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5703 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5704 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5705 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5707 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5708 @sc{GNUS 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5709 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5710 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5713 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5714 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5715 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5716 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5717 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5718 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5722 @node Shell Archives
5723 @subsection Shell Archives
5725 @cindex shell archives
5726 @cindex shared articles
5728 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5729 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5730 some commands to deal with these:
5735 @kindex X s (Summary)
5736 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5737 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5740 @kindex X S (Summary)
5741 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5742 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5745 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5746 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5747 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5750 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5751 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5752 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5753 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5757 @node PostScript Files
5758 @subsection PostScript Files
5764 @kindex X p (Summary)
5765 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5766 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5769 @kindex X P (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5771 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5772 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5775 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5776 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5777 View the current PostScript series
5778 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5781 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5782 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5783 View and save the current PostScript series
5784 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5789 @subsection Other Files
5793 @kindex X o (Summary)
5794 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5795 Save the current series
5796 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5799 @kindex X b (Summary)
5800 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5801 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5802 doesn't really work yet.
5806 @node Decoding Variables
5807 @subsection Decoding Variables
5809 Adjective, not verb.
5812 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5813 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5814 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5818 @node Rule Variables
5819 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5820 @cindex rule variables
5822 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5823 variables are of the form
5826 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5833 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5834 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5836 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5837 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5840 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5841 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5844 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5845 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5846 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5847 user and default view rules.
5849 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5850 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5851 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5856 @node Other Decode Variables
5857 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5860 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5862 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5863 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5864 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5865 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5866 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5870 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5871 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5874 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5875 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5876 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5879 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5880 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5881 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5882 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5883 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5886 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5887 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5888 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5890 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5891 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5892 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5893 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5894 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5897 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5898 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5899 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5901 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5902 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5903 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5904 looking for files to display.
5906 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5907 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5908 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5911 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5912 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5913 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5916 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5917 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5918 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5921 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5922 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5923 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5926 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5927 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5928 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5929 decoded articles as unread.
5931 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5932 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5933 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5934 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5936 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5937 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5938 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
5940 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5941 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5943 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5944 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5945 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5946 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5948 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5949 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5950 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5951 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5952 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5953 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5954 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5955 simply dropped them.
5960 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5961 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5965 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5966 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5967 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5968 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5969 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5970 for you when you post the article.
5972 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5973 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5974 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5975 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5977 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5978 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5979 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5980 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5981 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5982 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5983 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5985 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5986 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5987 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5988 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5989 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5990 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5991 Default is @code{t}.
5997 @subsection Viewing Files
5998 @cindex viewing files
5999 @cindex pseudo-articles
6001 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6002 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6003 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6004 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6005 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6006 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6007 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6009 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6010 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6011 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6012 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6014 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6015 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6016 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6018 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6019 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6020 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6021 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6022 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6024 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6025 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6026 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6027 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6028 a list of parameters to that command.
6030 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6031 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6032 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6034 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6035 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6036 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6039 @node Article Treatment
6040 @section Article Treatment
6042 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6043 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6044 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6045 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6046 these articles easier.
6049 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6050 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6051 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6052 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6053 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6054 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6055 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6059 @node Article Highlighting
6060 @subsection Article Highlighting
6063 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6064 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6069 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6070 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6071 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
6074 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6075 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6076 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6077 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6078 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6079 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6080 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6081 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6082 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6083 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6084 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6087 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6088 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6089 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6091 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6094 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6096 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6097 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6098 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6100 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6101 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6102 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6104 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6105 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6106 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6108 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6109 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6110 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6111 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6112 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6113 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6115 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6116 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6117 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6119 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6120 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6121 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6123 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6124 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6125 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6126 that it's a citation.
6128 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6129 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6130 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6132 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6133 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6134 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6136 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6137 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6138 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6139 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6145 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6146 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6147 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6148 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6149 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6150 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6151 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6152 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6158 @node Article Fontisizing
6159 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6161 @cindex article emphasis
6163 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6164 @kindex W e (Summary)
6165 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6166 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6167 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6168 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6170 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
6171 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6172 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
6173 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6174 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6175 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6176 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6177 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6181 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6182 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6183 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6186 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6187 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6188 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6189 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6190 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6191 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6192 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6193 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6194 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6195 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6196 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6197 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6198 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6200 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6201 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6202 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6206 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6210 @node Article Hiding
6211 @subsection Article Hiding
6212 @cindex article hiding
6214 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6215 too much cruft in most articles.
6220 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-article-hide
6222 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
6225 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6226 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6227 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6231 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6232 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6233 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6234 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6237 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6238 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6239 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6243 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6244 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6245 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6246 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6247 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6248 signature has been hidden.
6251 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6253 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6254 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6257 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6259 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6260 customizing the hiding:
6264 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6265 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6266 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6267 50), hide the cited text.
6269 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6270 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6271 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6274 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6275 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6276 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6277 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6278 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6283 Start point of the hidden text.
6285 End point of the hidden text.
6287 Length of the hidden text.
6290 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6291 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6292 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6297 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6298 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6299 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6300 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6301 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6302 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6306 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6307 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6308 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6310 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6311 citation customization.
6314 @node Article Washing
6315 @subsection Article Washing
6317 @cindex article washing
6319 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6320 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6322 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6323 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6329 @kindex W l (Summary)
6330 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6331 Remove page breaks from the current article
6332 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6336 @kindex W r (Summary)
6337 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6338 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6339 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6340 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6341 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6342 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6344 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6345 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6346 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6347 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6350 @kindex W t (Summary)
6351 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6352 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6353 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6356 @kindex W v (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6358 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6359 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6362 @kindex W m (Summary)
6363 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6364 Toggle whether to display the article as @sc{mime} message
6365 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6368 @kindex W o (Summary)
6369 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6370 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6373 @kindex W d (Summary)
6374 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6375 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6378 @kindex W w (Summary)
6379 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6380 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6381 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6382 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6384 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6388 @kindex W c (Summary)
6389 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6390 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6391 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6394 @kindex W f (Summary)
6396 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6397 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6398 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6399 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6405 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6406 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6407 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6408 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6409 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6410 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6411 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6412 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6413 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6414 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6415 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6416 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6417 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6418 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6422 @kindex W b (Summary)
6423 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6424 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6425 @xref{Article Buttons}
6428 @kindex W B (Summary)
6429 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6430 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6431 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6434 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6435 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6436 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6437 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6440 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6441 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6442 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6443 lines with a single empty line.
6444 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6447 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6448 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6449 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6450 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6453 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6454 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6455 Do all the three commands above
6456 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6459 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6461 Remove all blank lines
6462 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6465 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6466 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6467 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6468 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6473 @node Article Buttons
6474 @subsection Article Buttons
6477 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6478 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6479 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6480 button on these references.
6482 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6483 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6484 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6489 @item gnus-button-alist
6490 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6491 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6494 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6500 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6501 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6502 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6505 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6506 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6507 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6510 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6511 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6512 avoid false matches.
6515 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6518 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6519 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6523 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6526 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6529 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6530 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6531 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6532 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6533 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6536 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6539 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6541 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6542 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6543 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6544 default values of the variables above.
6546 @item gnus-article-button-face
6547 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6548 Face used on buttons.
6550 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6551 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6552 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6558 @subsection Article Date
6560 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6561 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6562 when the article was sent.
6567 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6568 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6569 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6570 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6573 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6574 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6576 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6577 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6580 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6581 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6582 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6585 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6586 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6587 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6588 @findex format-time-string
6589 Display the date using a user-defined format
6590 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6591 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6592 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6593 for a list of possible format specs.
6596 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6597 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6598 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6599 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6600 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6601 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6602 updated continually, you can put
6605 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6608 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6609 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6613 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6614 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6615 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6616 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6617 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6618 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6619 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6624 @node Article Signature
6625 @subsection Article Signature
6627 @cindex article signature
6629 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6630 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6631 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6632 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6633 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6634 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6635 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6636 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6637 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6640 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6641 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6642 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6643 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6644 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6645 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6646 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6647 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6650 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6653 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6654 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6659 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6662 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6665 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6666 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6668 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6669 in question is not a signature.
6672 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6673 listed above. Here's an example:
6676 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6677 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6680 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6681 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6682 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6683 signature after all.
6686 @node Article Commands
6687 @section Article Commands
6694 @kindex A P (Summary)
6695 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6696 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6697 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6698 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6699 run just before printing the buffer.
6704 @node Summary Sorting
6705 @section Summary Sorting
6706 @cindex summary sorting
6708 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6709 can't really see why you'd want that.
6714 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6715 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6716 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6719 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6720 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6721 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6724 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6725 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6726 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6729 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6730 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6731 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6734 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6735 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6736 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6739 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6740 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6741 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6744 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6745 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6746 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6747 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6748 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6752 @node Finding the Parent
6753 @section Finding the Parent
6754 @cindex parent articles
6755 @cindex referring articles
6760 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6761 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6762 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6763 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6764 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6765 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6766 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6767 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6768 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6770 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6771 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6772 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
6773 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6774 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6778 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6779 @kindex A R (Summary)
6780 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6781 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6784 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6785 @kindex A T (Summary)
6786 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6787 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6788 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6789 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6790 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6791 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6792 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6794 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6795 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6796 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6797 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6798 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6799 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6802 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6803 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6805 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6806 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6807 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6808 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6809 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6810 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6811 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6814 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6815 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6816 by giving this command a prefix.
6818 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6819 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6820 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6821 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6822 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6823 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6826 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6827 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6828 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6829 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6830 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6831 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6834 @node Alternative Approaches
6835 @section Alternative Approaches
6837 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6838 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6841 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6842 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6847 @subsection Pick and Read
6848 @cindex pick and read
6850 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6851 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6852 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6853 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6855 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6856 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6857 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6858 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6859 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6860 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6862 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6867 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6868 Pick the article on the current line
6869 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6870 go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6871 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6874 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6875 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6876 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6877 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6881 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6882 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6886 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6887 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6891 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6892 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6896 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6897 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6901 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6902 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6906 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6907 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6911 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6912 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6916 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6917 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6921 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6922 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6926 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6927 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6931 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6932 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6933 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6934 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6935 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6936 will still be visible when you are reading.
6940 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6943 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6946 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6947 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6949 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6950 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6951 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6953 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6954 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6955 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6956 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6957 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6958 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6959 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6963 @subsection Binary Groups
6964 @cindex binary groups
6966 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6967 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6968 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6969 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6970 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6971 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6972 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6975 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6976 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6977 command, when you have turned on this mode
6978 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6980 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6981 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6985 @section Tree Display
6988 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6989 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
6990 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6991 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6994 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6997 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6998 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6999 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7001 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7002 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7003 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7004 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7005 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7007 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7008 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7009 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7010 default is @code{modeline}.
7012 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7013 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7014 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7015 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7016 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7017 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7018 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7024 The name of the poster.
7026 The @code{From} header.
7028 The number of the article.
7030 The opening bracket.
7032 The closing bracket.
7037 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7039 Variables related to the display are:
7042 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7043 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7044 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7045 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7046 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7047 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7049 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7050 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7051 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7052 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7056 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7057 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7058 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
7059 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
7060 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7061 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7062 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7063 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7064 other windows displayed next to it.
7066 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7067 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7068 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7069 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7070 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7071 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7072 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7076 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7079 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7089 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7093 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7094 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7096 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7098 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7103 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7104 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7105 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7108 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7109 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7110 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7111 (gnus-add-configuration
7115 (summary 0.75 point)
7120 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7123 @node Mail Group Commands
7124 @section Mail Group Commands
7125 @cindex mail group commands
7127 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7128 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7130 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7131 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7136 @kindex B e (Summary)
7137 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7138 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7139 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7142 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7143 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7144 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7145 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7146 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7147 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7150 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7151 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7152 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7153 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7154 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7155 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7158 @kindex B m (Summary)
7160 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7161 Move the article from one mail group to another
7162 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7165 @kindex B c (Summary)
7167 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7168 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7169 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7170 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7173 @kindex B B (Summary)
7174 @cindex crosspost mail
7175 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7176 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7177 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7178 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7179 be properly updated.
7182 @kindex B i (Summary)
7183 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7184 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7185 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7186 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7189 @kindex B r (Summary)
7190 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7191 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7192 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7193 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7194 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7198 @kindex B w (Summary)
7200 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7201 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7202 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7203 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7204 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7205 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7208 @kindex B q (Summary)
7209 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7210 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7211 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7212 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7215 @kindex B p (Summary)
7216 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7217 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7218 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7219 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7220 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7221 article from your news server (or rather, from
7222 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7223 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7224 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7225 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7226 just not have arrived yet.
7230 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7231 @cindex moving articles
7232 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
7233 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7234 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7235 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7236 suggestions you find reasonable.
7239 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7240 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7241 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7242 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7246 @node Various Summary Stuff
7247 @section Various Summary Stuff
7250 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7251 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7252 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7253 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7257 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7258 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7259 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7261 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7262 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7263 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7264 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7265 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7266 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7269 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7270 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7271 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7272 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7273 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7275 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7276 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7277 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7278 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7279 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7280 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7281 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
7282 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7283 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7284 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7289 @node Summary Group Information
7290 @subsection Summary Group Information
7295 @kindex H f (Summary)
7296 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7297 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7298 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7299 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7300 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7301 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7302 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7303 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7304 be used for fetching the file.
7307 @kindex H d (Summary)
7308 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7309 Give a brief description of the current group
7310 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7311 rereading the description from the server.
7314 @kindex H h (Summary)
7315 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7316 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7317 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7320 @kindex H i (Summary)
7321 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7322 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7326 @node Searching for Articles
7327 @subsection Searching for Articles
7332 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7333 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7334 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7335 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7338 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7339 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7340 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7341 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7345 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7346 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7347 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7348 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7352 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7353 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7354 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7355 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7358 @node Summary Generation Commands
7359 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7364 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7365 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7366 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7369 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7370 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7371 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7372 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7377 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7378 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7383 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7384 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7385 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7386 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7387 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7388 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7389 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7390 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7391 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7395 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7396 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7397 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7398 several documents into one biiig group
7399 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7400 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7401 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7402 command understands the process/prefix convention
7403 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7406 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7407 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7408 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7409 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7410 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7411 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7415 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7416 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7417 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7420 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7421 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7422 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7423 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7428 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7429 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7430 @cindex summary exit
7431 @cindex exiting groups
7433 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7434 group and return you to the group buffer.
7440 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7442 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7443 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7444 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7445 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7446 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7447 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7448 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7449 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7450 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7451 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7452 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7456 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7458 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7459 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7460 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7464 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7466 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7467 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7468 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7469 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7472 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7473 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7474 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7475 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7478 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7479 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7480 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7481 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7484 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7485 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7486 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7487 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7488 all articles, both read and unread.
7492 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7493 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7494 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7495 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7496 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7497 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7498 articles, both read and unread.
7501 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7502 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7503 Exit the group and go to the next group
7504 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7507 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7508 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7509 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7510 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7513 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7514 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7515 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7516 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7517 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7518 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7521 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7522 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7525 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7526 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7527 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7528 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7529 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7530 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7531 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7532 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7533 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7534 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7535 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7536 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7538 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7540 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7541 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7542 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7543 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7544 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7545 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7546 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7547 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7548 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7551 @node Crosspost Handling
7552 @section Crosspost Handling
7556 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7557 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7558 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7559 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7560 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7561 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7564 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7565 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7566 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7567 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7568 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7570 @cindex cross-posting
7573 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7574 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7575 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7576 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7577 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7578 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7579 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7580 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7581 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7582 the cross reference mechanism.
7584 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7585 @cindex overview.fmt
7586 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7587 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7588 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7589 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7590 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7591 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7594 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7595 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7596 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7601 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7604 @node Duplicate Suppression
7605 @section Duplicate Suppression
7607 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7608 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7609 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7610 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various reasons.
7614 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7615 is evil and not very common.
7618 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7619 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7622 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7623 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7626 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7629 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7630 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7632 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7633 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7634 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7635 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7636 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7637 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7638 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7641 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7642 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7643 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7644 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7645 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7649 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7650 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7651 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7653 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7654 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7655 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7656 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7657 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
7658 session are suppressed.
7660 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7661 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7662 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7663 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7665 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7666 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7667 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7668 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7671 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
7672 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7673 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7674 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7675 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
7676 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7677 to you to figure out, I think.
7680 @node The Article Buffer
7681 @chapter The Article Buffer
7682 @cindex article buffer
7684 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7685 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7686 tell gnus otherwise.
7689 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7690 * Using MIME:: Pushing to mime articles as @sc{mime} messages.
7691 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7692 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7693 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7697 @node Hiding Headers
7698 @section Hiding Headers
7699 @cindex hiding headers
7700 @cindex deleting headers
7702 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7703 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7705 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7706 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7707 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7708 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7709 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7710 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7711 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7712 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7713 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7715 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7719 @item gnus-visible-headers
7720 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7721 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7722 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7723 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7725 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7726 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7729 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7732 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7735 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7736 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7737 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7738 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7739 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7740 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7742 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
7743 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
7746 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7749 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7752 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7753 variable will have no effect.
7757 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7758 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7759 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7760 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7761 the headers are to be displayed.
7763 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7764 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7767 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7770 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7771 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed
7774 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7775 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7776 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7777 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7778 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7779 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7780 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7781 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7782 @dfn{boring conditions} that gnus can check and remove from sight.
7784 These conditions are:
7787 Remove all empty headers.
7789 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7792 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7793 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7795 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7798 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7801 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7803 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7806 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7809 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7810 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7813 This is also the default value for this variable.
7817 @section Using @sc{mime}
7820 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7821 while people stand around yawning.
7823 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7824 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7826 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7827 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7828 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7830 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7831 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
7832 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7833 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
7834 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7835 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
7836 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
7837 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
7838 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
7839 existed yet, sorry).
7841 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7842 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7843 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7844 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7845 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7846 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7848 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
7849 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
7850 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
7851 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
7852 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
7853 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
7854 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
7855 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
7856 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
7859 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7861 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
7862 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
7863 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
7864 buffer when there are nobody else.
7867 @node Customizing Articles
7868 @section Customizing Articles
7869 @cindex article customization
7871 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7872 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7873 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7874 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7876 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7877 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7878 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7879 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7880 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7881 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7882 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7883 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7884 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7886 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7887 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7888 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7889 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7890 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7893 @node Article Keymap
7894 @section Article Keymap
7896 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7897 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7898 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7899 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7902 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7907 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7908 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7909 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7912 @kindex DEL (Article)
7913 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7914 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7917 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7918 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7919 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7920 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7921 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7924 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7925 @findex gnus-article-mail
7926 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7927 given a prefix, include the mail.
7931 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7932 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7933 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7937 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7938 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7939 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7942 @kindex TAB (Article)
7943 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7944 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7945 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7948 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7949 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7950 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7956 @section Misc Article
7960 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7961 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7962 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7963 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7966 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7967 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7968 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7969 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7970 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7971 the contents of the article buffer.
7973 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7974 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7975 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7976 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7977 hiding headers, and the like.
7979 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7980 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7981 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7983 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7984 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7985 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7986 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7988 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7989 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7990 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7991 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
7992 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
7997 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7998 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8002 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8004 @item gnus-break-pages
8005 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8006 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8007 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8008 paging will not be done.
8010 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8011 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8012 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8017 @node Composing Messages
8018 @chapter Composing Messages
8019 @cindex composing messages
8022 @cindex sending mail
8027 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8028 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8029 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8030 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8031 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8032 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8033 to make gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8036 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8037 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8038 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8039 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8040 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8041 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8042 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8045 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8046 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8052 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8055 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8056 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8057 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8058 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8060 @item gnus-add-to-list
8061 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8062 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8063 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8071 Variables for composing news articles:
8074 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8075 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8076 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8077 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8078 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8079 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8080 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8081 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8082 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want gnus to keep a history
8085 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8086 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8087 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8088 file. It is 1000 by default.
8093 @node Posting Server
8094 @section Posting Server
8096 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8097 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8099 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8101 @vindex gnus-post-method
8103 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
8104 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8105 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8106 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8107 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8110 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8113 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8114 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8115 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8116 the ``current'' server for posting.
8118 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8119 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8121 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8122 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8125 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8126 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8127 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8132 @section Mail and Post
8134 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8138 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8139 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8140 @cindex mailing lists
8142 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8143 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8144 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8145 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8146 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8147 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8148 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8149 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8150 still a pain, though.
8154 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8155 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8156 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8159 @findex ispell-message
8161 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8165 @node Archived Messages
8166 @section Archived Messages
8167 @cindex archived messages
8168 @cindex sent messages
8170 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8171 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8172 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8173 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8176 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8177 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
8178 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8182 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8183 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8184 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8185 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8188 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8189 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8190 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8191 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8194 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8195 '(nnfolder "archive"
8196 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8197 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8198 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8201 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8203 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8204 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8205 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8207 This variable can be used to do the following:
8211 Messages will be saved in that group.
8212 @item a list of strings
8213 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8214 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8215 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8217 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8222 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8224 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8227 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8229 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8232 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8234 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8235 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8236 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8237 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8242 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8243 '((if (message-news-p)
8248 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8249 messages in one file per month:
8252 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8253 '((if (message-news-p)
8255 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8256 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8259 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8260 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8262 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8263 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8264 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8265 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8266 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8267 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8268 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8269 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8270 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8271 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8273 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8274 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8275 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8276 this will disable archiving.
8279 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8280 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8281 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8282 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8283 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8286 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8287 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8288 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8291 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8292 but the latter is the preferred method.
8296 @c @node Posting Styles
8297 @c @section Posting Styles
8298 @c @cindex posting styles
8301 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
8303 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8304 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8305 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8308 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8309 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8310 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8311 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8312 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8317 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
8318 @c (organization . "What me?"))
8320 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
8321 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8322 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
8325 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8326 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8327 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8328 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8329 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8330 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8331 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8332 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8334 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8335 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8336 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8337 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8338 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8339 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8342 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8343 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8344 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
8345 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8346 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8349 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8350 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8351 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8353 @c So here's a new example:
8356 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
8358 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
8359 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
8360 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8361 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
8363 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8364 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8365 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
8366 @c (posting-from-work-p
8367 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
8368 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
8369 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
8371 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
8378 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8379 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8380 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8381 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8382 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8384 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8385 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8386 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8387 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8388 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8392 @vindex nndraft-directory
8393 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8394 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8395 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8396 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8397 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8398 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8400 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8401 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8404 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8405 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8406 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8407 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8408 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8409 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8410 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8411 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8412 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8413 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8414 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8415 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8416 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8417 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8419 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8420 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8421 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8423 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8425 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8426 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8427 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8429 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8432 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8433 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8434 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8435 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8436 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8437 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8438 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8441 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8442 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8443 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8446 @node Rejected Articles
8447 @section Rejected Articles
8448 @cindex rejected articles
8450 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8451 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8452 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8453 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8455 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
8456 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8457 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8458 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
8459 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8461 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8462 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8463 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8466 @node Select Methods
8467 @chapter Select Methods
8468 @cindex foreign groups
8469 @cindex select methods
8471 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8472 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8473 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8474 personal mail group.
8476 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8477 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8478 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8479 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8480 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8481 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8483 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8484 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8486 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8489 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8490 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8491 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8492 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8493 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8495 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8498 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8499 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8500 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8501 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8502 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8503 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8507 @node The Server Buffer
8508 @section The Server Buffer
8510 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8511 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8512 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8513 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8514 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8515 backend represents a virtual server.
8517 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8518 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8519 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8520 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8522 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8523 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8524 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8525 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8526 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8527 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8528 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8530 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8531 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8534 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8535 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8536 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8537 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8538 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8539 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8540 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8543 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8544 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8547 @node Server Buffer Format
8548 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8549 @cindex server buffer format
8551 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8552 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8553 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8554 variable, with some simple extensions:
8559 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8562 The name of this server.
8565 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8568 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8571 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8572 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8573 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8574 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8584 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8587 @node Server Commands
8588 @subsection Server Commands
8589 @cindex server commands
8595 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8596 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8600 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8601 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8604 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8605 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8606 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8610 @findex gnus-server-exit
8611 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8615 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8616 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8620 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8621 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8625 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8626 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8630 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8631 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8635 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8636 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8637 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8642 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8643 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8644 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8645 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8650 @node Example Methods
8651 @subsection Example Methods
8653 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8656 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8659 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8665 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8666 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8669 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8670 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8672 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8673 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8677 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8680 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8681 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8683 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8684 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8685 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8689 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8692 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8695 Here's the method for a public spool:
8699 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8700 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8703 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8704 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8705 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8706 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8707 should probably look something like this:
8711 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8712 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8713 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8714 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8715 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8718 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8719 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8720 server that would look something like this:
8724 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8725 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8726 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8727 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8728 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8729 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8732 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8733 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8734 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8735 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8738 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8739 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8741 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8742 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8744 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8745 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8746 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8748 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8750 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8751 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8752 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8753 will contain the following:
8763 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8764 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8765 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8768 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8769 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8770 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8773 @node Server Variables
8774 @subsection Server Variables
8776 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8777 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8778 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8779 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8780 won't change the "derived" variables.
8782 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8783 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8784 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8785 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8786 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8787 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8788 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8789 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8790 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8794 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8795 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8796 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8800 @node Servers and Methods
8801 @subsection Servers and Methods
8803 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8804 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8805 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8806 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8810 @node Unavailable Servers
8811 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8813 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8814 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8815 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8816 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8817 actually the case or not.
8819 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8820 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8821 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8822 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8823 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8824 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8825 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8826 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8828 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8829 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8831 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8832 with the following commands:
8838 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8839 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8840 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8844 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8845 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8846 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8850 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8851 Mark the current server as unreachable
8852 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8855 @kindex M-o (Server)
8856 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8857 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8858 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8861 @kindex M-c (Server)
8862 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8863 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8864 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8868 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8869 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8870 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8876 @section Getting News
8877 @cindex reading news
8878 @cindex news backends
8880 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8881 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8882 or it can read from a local spool.
8885 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8886 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8891 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8894 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8895 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8896 server as the, uhm, address.
8898 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8899 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8900 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8901 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8903 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8904 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8905 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8907 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8912 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8913 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8914 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8916 @cindex authentification
8917 @cindex nntp authentification
8918 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8919 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8920 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8921 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8922 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8923 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8924 present in this hook.
8926 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8927 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8928 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8929 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
8930 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8931 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
8932 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
8933 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
8934 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
8935 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
8936 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
8937 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
8941 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
8944 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
8945 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password}, and
8946 @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp}
8947 token, which is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format deviates
8948 from the @file{.netrc} file format.)
8952 Here's an example file:
8955 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
8956 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
8959 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
8960 have to be first, for instance.
8962 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
8963 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
8964 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
8965 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
8966 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
8967 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
8968 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
8970 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
8972 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8973 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8974 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8975 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8976 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8979 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8983 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8985 The default value is
8988 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8989 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8992 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8993 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8995 @item nntp-maximum-request
8996 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8997 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8998 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8999 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9000 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9001 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9002 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9004 @c @item nntp-connection-timeout
9005 @c @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9006 @c If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9007 @c regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9008 @c responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9009 @c time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9010 @c somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9011 @c that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9012 @c connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9013 @c no timeouts are done.
9015 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9016 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9017 @c @cindex PPP connections
9018 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9019 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9020 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9021 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9022 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9023 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9024 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9025 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9026 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9027 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9029 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9030 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9031 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9032 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9035 @item nntp-server-hook
9036 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9037 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9040 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9041 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9042 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9043 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9044 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9045 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9046 functions are supplied:
9049 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9050 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9053 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9054 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9055 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9058 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9062 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9063 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9064 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9065 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9067 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9068 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9069 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9071 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9072 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9073 User name on the remote system.
9077 @item nntp-open-telnet
9078 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9079 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9081 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9084 @item nntp-telnet-command
9085 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9086 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9088 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9089 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9090 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9092 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9093 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9094 User name for log in on the remote system.
9096 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9097 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9098 Password to use when logging in.
9100 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9101 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9102 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9105 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9106 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9107 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9108 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9110 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9111 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9112 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9113 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9114 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9118 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9119 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9120 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9121 you must have SSLay installed
9122 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9123 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9124 define a server as follows:
9127 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9129 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9131 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9132 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9133 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9134 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9139 @item nntp-end-of-line
9140 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9141 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9142 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9143 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9145 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9146 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9147 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9151 @vindex nntp-address
9152 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9154 @item nntp-port-number
9155 @vindex nntp-port-number
9156 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9159 @item nntp-buggy-select
9160 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9161 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9163 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9164 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9165 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9166 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9169 @item nntp-xover-commands
9170 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9173 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9174 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9178 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9179 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9180 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9181 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9182 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9183 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9184 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9185 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9186 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9187 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9188 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9190 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9191 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9192 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9194 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9195 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9196 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9197 server closes connection.
9199 @item nntp-record-commands
9200 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9201 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9202 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9203 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9204 that doesn't seem to work.
9210 @subsection News Spool
9214 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9215 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9216 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9219 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9220 anything else) as the address.
9222 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9223 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9224 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9225 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9229 @item nnspool-inews-program
9230 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9231 Program used to post an article.
9233 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9234 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9235 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9237 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9238 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9239 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9240 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9242 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9243 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9244 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9245 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9247 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9248 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9249 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9251 @item nnspool-active-file
9252 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9253 The path to the active file.
9255 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9256 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9257 The path to the group descriptions file.
9259 @item nnspool-history-file
9260 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9261 The path to the news history file.
9263 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9264 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9265 The path to the active date file.
9267 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9268 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9269 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9272 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9273 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9275 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9276 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9277 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9283 @section Getting Mail
9284 @cindex reading mail
9287 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9291 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9292 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9293 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9294 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9295 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9296 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9297 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9298 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9299 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9300 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9301 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9305 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9306 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9308 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9309 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9310 and things will happen automatically.
9312 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9313 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9316 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9317 '((nnml "private")))
9320 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9321 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9322 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9323 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9324 like any other group.
9326 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9329 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9330 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9331 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9335 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9336 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9337 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9340 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9341 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9342 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9345 @node Splitting Mail
9346 @subsection Splitting Mail
9347 @cindex splitting mail
9348 @cindex mail splitting
9350 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9351 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9352 to be split into groups.
9355 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9356 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9357 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9361 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9362 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9363 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9364 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9365 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9366 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9367 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9370 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9373 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
9374 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
9377 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9378 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9379 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9380 mail belongs in that group.
9382 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9383 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9384 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9385 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9386 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9387 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9389 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9390 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9391 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9392 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9393 thinks should carry this mail message.
9395 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9396 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9397 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9398 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9400 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9401 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9402 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9403 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9404 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9406 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9409 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9410 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9411 links. If that's the case for you, set
9412 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9413 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9415 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9416 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9417 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9418 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9420 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9421 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9422 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9423 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9424 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9425 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9426 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9427 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9431 @node Mail Backend Variables
9432 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9434 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9438 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9439 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9440 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9441 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9443 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9444 @item nnmail-spool-file
9448 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9449 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9450 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9451 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9452 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9453 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9454 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9455 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9456 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9457 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9458 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9459 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9460 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9461 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9462 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9464 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9466 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9467 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9470 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9471 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9472 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9473 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9474 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9475 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9477 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9478 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9479 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9480 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9481 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9482 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9483 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9486 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9487 @item nnmail-crash-box
9488 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9489 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9490 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9493 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9494 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9495 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9496 used for, well, anything, really.
9498 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9499 @item nnmail-split-hook
9500 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9501 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9502 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9503 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9504 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9505 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9506 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9507 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9509 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9510 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9511 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9512 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9513 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9514 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9515 starting to handle the new mail) and
9516 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9517 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9518 default file modes the new mail files get:
9521 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9522 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9524 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9525 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9528 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9529 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9530 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9531 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9532 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9533 it will be used instead.
9535 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9536 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9537 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9538 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9540 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9541 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9544 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9545 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9546 @cindex incoming mail files
9547 @cindex deleting incoming files
9548 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9549 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9552 @c This is @code{nil} by
9553 @c default for reasons of security.
9555 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9556 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9557 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9558 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9559 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9562 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9564 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9565 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9566 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9567 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9568 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9569 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9570 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9572 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9573 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9575 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9577 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9578 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9579 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9580 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9581 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9586 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9587 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9588 @cindex mail splitting
9589 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9591 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9592 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9593 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9594 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9595 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9596 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9598 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9601 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9602 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9603 ;; from real errors.
9604 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9606 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9607 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9608 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9609 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9610 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9611 ;; Other mailing lists...
9612 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9613 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9615 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9616 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9620 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9621 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9622 the five possible split syntaxes:
9627 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9628 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9632 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9633 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9634 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9637 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9638 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9639 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9640 be stored in one or more groups.
9643 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9644 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9647 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9651 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9652 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9653 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9658 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9659 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9660 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9661 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9662 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9664 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9665 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9666 are expanded as specified by the variable
9667 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9668 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9671 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9672 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9673 when all this splitting is performed.
9675 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9676 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9677 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9680 (any "debian-\\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9683 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
9684 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\1}
9685 up to @samp{\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
9686 groupings 1 through 9.
9689 @node Mail and Procmail
9690 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9695 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9696 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9697 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9698 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9699 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9701 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9702 something like the following:
9704 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9706 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9707 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9708 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9711 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9712 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9715 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9716 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9717 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9718 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9719 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9720 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9722 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9725 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9727 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9728 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9730 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9731 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9732 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9733 to include all your mail groups.
9735 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9736 method will be created automatically.
9738 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9739 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9740 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9741 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9742 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9743 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9744 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9745 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9747 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9748 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9749 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9750 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9751 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9753 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9754 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9755 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9756 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9757 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9758 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9760 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9761 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9762 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9763 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9764 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9767 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9768 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9769 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9770 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9771 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9775 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9776 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9778 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9779 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9780 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9783 Doing so can be quite easy.
9785 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9786 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9787 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9788 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9789 your @code{nnml} groups.
9795 Go to the group buffer.
9798 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9799 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9802 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9805 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9806 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9809 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9810 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9813 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9814 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9815 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9816 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9817 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9819 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9820 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9821 using the new mail backend.
9825 @subsection Expiring Mail
9826 @cindex article expiry
9828 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9829 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9830 different approach to mail reading.
9832 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9833 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9834 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9835 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9836 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9837 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9840 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9841 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9842 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9843 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9844 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9845 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9846 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9847 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9849 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9850 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9851 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9852 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9853 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9854 column in the summary buffer.
9856 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9857 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9858 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9859 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9862 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9864 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9865 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9866 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9869 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9870 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9871 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9872 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9873 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9875 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9876 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9879 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9880 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9883 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9884 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9886 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9887 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9888 don't really mix very well.
9890 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9891 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9892 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9893 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9896 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9897 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9898 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9899 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9902 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9904 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9906 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9908 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9910 ((string= group "important")
9916 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9917 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9919 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9920 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9921 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9924 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9925 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9927 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9928 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9929 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9930 easier for procmail users.
9932 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9933 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9934 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9935 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9936 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9937 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9938 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9939 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9940 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9941 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9942 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9943 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9944 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9947 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9951 @subsection Washing Mail
9952 @cindex mail washing
9953 @cindex list server brain damage
9954 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9956 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9957 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9958 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9959 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9960 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9961 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9963 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9964 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9965 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9968 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9969 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9970 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9971 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9974 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9975 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9976 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9977 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9980 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9981 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9982 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9983 Emacs running on MS machines.
9987 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9988 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9989 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9990 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9993 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9994 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9995 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9996 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
9998 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9999 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10000 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10001 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10002 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10003 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10004 also be a list of regexp.
10006 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10007 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10010 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10011 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10014 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10015 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10016 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10020 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10021 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10022 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10026 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10027 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10028 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10035 @subsection Duplicates
10037 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10038 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10039 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10040 @cindex duplicate mails
10041 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10042 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10043 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10044 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10045 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10046 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10047 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10048 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10049 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10050 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10051 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10052 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10053 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10055 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10056 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10057 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10058 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10060 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10063 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10064 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10068 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10069 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10070 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10071 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10072 (any mail "mail.misc")
10079 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10080 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10085 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10086 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10087 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10088 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10089 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10092 @node Not Reading Mail
10093 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10095 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10096 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10097 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10099 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10100 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10102 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10103 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10104 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10105 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10106 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10107 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10108 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10109 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10110 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10111 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10112 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10114 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10115 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10119 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10120 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10122 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10123 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10124 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10127 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10128 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10129 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10130 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10131 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10135 @node Unix Mail Box
10136 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10138 @cindex unix mail box
10140 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10141 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10142 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10143 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10144 which group it belongs in.
10146 Virtual server settings:
10149 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10150 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10151 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10153 @item nnmbox-active-file
10154 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10155 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10157 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10158 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10159 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10165 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10169 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10170 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10171 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10172 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10173 article to say which group it belongs in.
10175 Virtual server settings:
10178 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10179 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10180 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10182 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10183 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10184 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10186 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10187 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10188 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10193 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10195 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10197 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10198 format. It should be used with some caution.
10200 @vindex nnml-directory
10201 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10202 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10203 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10204 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10206 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10209 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10210 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10211 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10212 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10213 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10214 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10215 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10216 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10218 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10219 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10220 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10221 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10223 Virtual server settings:
10226 @item nnml-directory
10227 @vindex nnml-directory
10228 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10230 @item nnml-active-file
10231 @vindex nnml-active-file
10232 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10234 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10235 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10236 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10239 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10240 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10241 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10243 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10244 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10245 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10247 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10248 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10249 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10251 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10252 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10253 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10257 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10258 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10259 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10260 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10261 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10262 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10263 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10268 @subsubsection MH Spool
10270 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10272 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10273 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10274 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10275 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10277 Virtual server settings:
10280 @item nnmh-directory
10281 @vindex nnmh-directory
10282 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10284 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10285 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10286 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10289 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10290 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10291 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10292 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10293 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10294 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10295 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10300 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10302 @cindex mbox folders
10303 @cindex mail folders
10305 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10306 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10307 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10310 Virtual server settings:
10313 @item nnfolder-directory
10314 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10315 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10317 @item nnfolder-active-file
10318 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10319 The name of the active file.
10321 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10322 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10323 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10325 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10326 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10327 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10330 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10331 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10332 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10333 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10334 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10335 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10338 @node Other Sources
10339 @section Other Sources
10341 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10342 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10346 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10347 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10348 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10349 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10350 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10351 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10355 @node Directory Groups
10356 @subsection Directory Groups
10358 @cindex directory groups
10360 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10361 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10364 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10365 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10366 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10367 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10369 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10370 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10371 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10372 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10373 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10375 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10377 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10378 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10379 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10380 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10383 @node Anything Groups
10384 @subsection Anything Groups
10387 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10388 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10389 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10392 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10393 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10394 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10395 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10396 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10397 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10398 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10399 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10400 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10401 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10404 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10405 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10406 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10407 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10409 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10410 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10411 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10412 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10414 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10415 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10416 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10417 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10418 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10419 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10420 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10421 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10426 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10427 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10428 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10429 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10431 @item nneething-exclude-files
10432 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10433 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10434 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10436 @item nneething-map-file
10437 @vindex nneething-map-file
10438 Name of the map files.
10442 @node Document Groups
10443 @subsection Document Groups
10445 @cindex documentation group
10448 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10449 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10456 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10461 The standard Unix mbox file.
10463 @cindex MMDF mail box
10465 The MMDF mail box format.
10468 Several news articles appended into a file.
10471 @cindex rnews batch files
10472 The rnews batch transport format.
10473 @cindex forwarded messages
10476 Forwarded articles.
10480 @cindex MIME digest
10481 @cindex 1153 digest
10482 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10483 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10484 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10486 @item standard-digest
10487 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10490 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10493 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10494 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10495 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10498 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10499 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10500 group. And that's it.
10502 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10503 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10504 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10505 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10506 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10507 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10508 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10509 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10510 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10511 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10513 Virtual server variables:
10516 @item nndoc-article-type
10517 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10518 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10519 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10520 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
10521 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
10523 @item nndoc-post-type
10524 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10525 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10526 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10531 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10535 @node Document Server Internals
10536 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10538 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10539 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10540 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10541 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10543 First, here's an example document type definition:
10547 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10548 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10551 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10552 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10553 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10554 types can be defined with very few settings:
10557 @item first-article
10558 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10559 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10562 @item article-begin
10563 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10564 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10566 @item head-begin-function
10567 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10570 @item nndoc-head-begin
10571 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10574 @item nndoc-head-end
10575 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10576 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10578 @item body-begin-function
10579 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10583 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10586 @item body-end-function
10587 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10591 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10594 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10595 regexp will be totally ignored.
10599 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10600 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10601 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10602 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10603 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10606 @item prepare-body-function
10607 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10608 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10609 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10611 @item article-transform-function
10612 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10613 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10614 body of the article.
10616 @item generate-head-function
10617 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10618 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10619 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10620 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10624 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10629 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10630 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10631 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10632 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10633 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10634 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10635 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10636 (subtype digest guess))
10639 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10640 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10641 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10642 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10643 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10645 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10646 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10647 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10648 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10649 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
10650 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10651 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10652 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10653 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10654 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10662 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10663 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10664 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10666 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10667 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10668 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10671 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10672 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10673 that interested in doing things properly.
10675 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10676 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10679 First some terminology:
10684 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10685 get news and/or mail from.
10688 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10689 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10692 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10696 @item message packets
10697 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10698 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10699 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10701 @item response packets
10702 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10703 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10704 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10714 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10715 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10716 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10717 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10720 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10723 You put the packet in your home directory.
10726 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10727 the native or secondary server.
10730 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10731 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10734 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10738 You transfer this packet to the server.
10741 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10744 You then repeat until you die.
10748 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10749 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10752 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10753 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10754 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10758 @node SOUP Commands
10759 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10761 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10765 @kindex G s b (Group)
10766 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10767 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10768 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10769 process/prefix convention.
10772 @kindex G s w (Group)
10773 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10774 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10777 @kindex G s s (Group)
10778 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10779 Send all replies from the replies packet
10780 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10783 @kindex G s p (Group)
10784 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10785 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10788 @kindex G s r (Group)
10789 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10790 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10793 @kindex O s (Summary)
10794 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10795 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10796 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10797 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10802 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10807 @item gnus-soup-directory
10808 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10809 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10810 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10812 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10813 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10814 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10815 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10817 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10818 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10819 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10820 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10822 @item gnus-soup-packer
10823 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10824 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10825 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10827 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10828 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10829 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10830 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10832 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10833 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10834 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10836 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10837 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10838 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10839 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10845 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10848 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10849 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10850 you can read them at leisure.
10852 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10856 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10857 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10858 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10859 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10861 @item nnsoup-directory
10862 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10863 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10864 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10866 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10867 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10868 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10869 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10871 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10872 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10873 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10874 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10875 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10877 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10878 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10879 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10880 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10882 @item nnsoup-active-file
10883 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10884 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10885 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10886 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10887 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10889 @item nnsoup-packer
10890 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10891 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10892 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10894 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10895 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10896 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10897 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10899 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10900 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10901 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10904 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10905 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10906 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10909 @item nnsoup-always-save
10910 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10911 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10917 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10919 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10920 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10921 more for that to happen.
10923 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10924 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10925 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10928 In specific, this is what it does:
10931 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10932 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10935 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10936 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10937 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10941 @subsection Web Searches
10945 @cindex InReference
10946 @cindex Usenet searches
10947 @cindex searching the Usenet
10949 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10950 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10951 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10952 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10953 searches without having to use a browser.
10955 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10956 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10957 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10958 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10959 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10961 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10962 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10963 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10964 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10965 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
10966 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10967 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10968 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10969 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10970 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
10973 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10974 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10975 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'
\e$BsU
\e(Bre} is to
10976 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10977 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10978 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10980 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10981 to use @code{nnweb}.
10983 Virtual server variables:
10988 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10989 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
10993 @vindex nnweb-search
10994 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10996 @item nnweb-max-hits
10997 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10998 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11001 @item nnweb-type-definition
11002 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11003 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11004 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11009 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11013 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11016 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11019 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11023 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11030 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11031 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11032 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11035 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11036 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11037 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11039 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11045 @item nngateway-address
11046 @vindex nngateway-address
11047 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11049 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11050 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11051 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11052 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11053 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11054 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11055 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11058 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11059 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11060 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11063 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11066 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11069 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11072 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11074 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11077 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11078 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11079 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11081 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11083 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11084 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11085 @code{nngateway-address}.
11090 (setq gnus-post-method
11091 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11092 (nngateway-header-transformation
11093 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11101 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11104 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11108 @node Combined Groups
11109 @section Combined Groups
11111 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11115 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11116 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11120 @node Virtual Groups
11121 @subsection Virtual Groups
11123 @cindex virtual groups
11125 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11128 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11129 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11130 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11132 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11133 regexp to match component groups.
11135 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11136 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11137 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11138 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11139 the virtual group.)
11141 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11142 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11145 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11148 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11149 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11151 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11152 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11153 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11154 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11157 "^nntp\\+some\\.server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+some\\.server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11160 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11161 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11162 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11164 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11165 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11166 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11167 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11168 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11170 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11171 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11172 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11174 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11175 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11176 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11177 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11178 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11179 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11180 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11181 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11182 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11183 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11184 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11187 @node Kibozed Groups
11188 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11192 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11193 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11194 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11195 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11197 @kindex G k (Group)
11198 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11201 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11202 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11203 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11204 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11206 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11207 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11208 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11210 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11211 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11212 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11213 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11214 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11215 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11216 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11217 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11219 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11220 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11221 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11222 Stranger things have happened.
11224 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11225 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11227 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11228 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11229 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11230 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11231 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11232 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11234 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11235 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11238 @node Gnus Unplugged
11239 @section Gnus Unplugged
11244 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11246 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11247 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11248 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11249 read news. Believe it or not.
11251 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11252 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11253 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11254 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11255 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11257 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11258 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11259 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11260 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11261 reading news on a machine.
11263 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11267 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11268 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11272 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11273 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11280 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11282 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11285 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11286 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11287 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11288 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11289 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11290 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11291 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11292 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11297 @subsection Agent Basics
11299 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11301 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11302 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11303 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11304 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11306 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11307 connected to the net continuously.
11309 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11310 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11312 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11317 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11318 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11319 already fetched while in this mode.
11322 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11323 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11324 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11327 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11328 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11329 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11330 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11333 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11334 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11335 then you read the news offline.
11338 And then you go to step 2.
11341 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11347 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11348 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11349 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11350 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11351 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11352 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11355 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11362 @node Agent Categories
11363 @subsection Agent Categories
11365 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11366 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11367 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11368 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11369 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11370 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11371 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11373 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11374 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11375 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11378 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11379 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11380 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11384 @node Category Syntax
11385 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11387 A category consists of two things.
11391 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11392 are eligible for downloading; and
11395 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11396 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11397 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11400 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11403 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11405 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11406 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11412 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11413 short (for some value of ``short'').
11415 Here's a more complex predicate:
11424 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11425 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11428 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11429 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11430 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11432 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11433 you want to do, you can write your own.
11437 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11438 lines; default 100.
11441 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11442 lines; default 200.
11445 True iff the article has a download score less than
11446 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11449 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11450 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11453 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11454 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11455 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11464 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11465 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11466 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11469 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11470 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11471 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11472 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11473 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11474 and @code{References}.
11477 @node The Category Buffer
11478 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11480 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11481 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11482 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11484 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11488 @kindex q (Category)
11489 @findex gnus-category-exit
11490 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11493 @kindex k (Category)
11494 @findex gnus-category-kill
11495 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11498 @kindex c (Category)
11499 @findex gnus-category-copy
11500 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11503 @kindex a (Category)
11504 @findex gnus-category-add
11505 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11508 @kindex p (Category)
11509 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11510 Edit the predicate of the current category
11511 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11514 @kindex g (Category)
11515 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11516 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11517 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11520 @kindex s (Category)
11521 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11522 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11523 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11526 @kindex l (Category)
11527 @findex gnus-category-list
11528 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11532 @node Category Variables
11533 @subsubsection Category Variables
11536 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11537 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11538 Hook run in category buffers.
11540 @item gnus-category-line-format
11541 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11542 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11543 Variables}). Legal elements are:
11547 The name of the category.
11550 The number of groups in the category.
11553 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11554 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11555 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
11557 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11558 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11559 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11561 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11562 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11563 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11565 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11566 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11567 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11570 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11571 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11572 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11578 @node Agent Commands
11579 @subsection Agent Commands
11581 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11582 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11583 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11587 * Group Agent Commands::
11588 * Summary Agent Commands::
11589 * Server Agent Commands::
11592 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11593 following incantation:
11595 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11597 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11602 @node Group Agent Commands
11603 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11607 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11608 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
11609 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11610 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
11613 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11614 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11615 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11618 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11619 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11620 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11621 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11624 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11625 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11626 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11627 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11630 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11631 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11632 Add the current group to an Agent category
11633 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11638 @node Summary Agent Commands
11639 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11643 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11644 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11645 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11648 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11649 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11650 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11651 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11654 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11655 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11656 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11659 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11660 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11661 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11666 @node Server Agent Commands
11667 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11671 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11672 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11673 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11674 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11677 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11678 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11679 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11680 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11686 @subsection Agent Expiry
11688 @vindex gnus-agent-expiry-days
11689 @findex gnus-agent-expiry
11690 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expiry
11691 @cindex Agent expiry
11692 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
11695 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
11696 @code{gnus-agent-expiry} command that will expire all read articles that
11697 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expiry-days} days. It can be run
11698 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
11699 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
11700 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
11702 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
11703 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
11704 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
11705 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
11706 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
11709 @node Outgoing Messages
11710 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11712 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11713 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11714 after posting, and edit them at will.
11716 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11717 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11718 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11719 messages in the draft group.
11723 @node Agent Variables
11724 @subsection Agent Variables
11727 @item gnus-agent-directory
11728 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11729 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11730 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11732 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
11733 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
11734 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
11735 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
11736 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
11739 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11740 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11741 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11743 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11744 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11745 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11750 @node Example Setup
11751 @subsection Example Setup
11753 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11754 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11755 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11758 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11759 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11760 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11762 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11763 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11764 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11765 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11767 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11768 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11770 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11774 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11775 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11778 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11779 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11780 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11781 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11782 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11785 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11786 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11787 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11788 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11789 back all the killed groups.)
11791 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11792 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11793 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11796 @node Batching Agents
11797 @subsection Batching Agents
11799 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
11800 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
11801 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
11805 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
11814 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11815 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11816 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11819 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11820 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11821 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11822 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11823 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11825 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11826 before generating the summary buffer.
11828 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11829 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11830 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11832 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11833 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11834 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11835 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11838 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11839 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11840 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11841 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11842 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11843 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11844 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11845 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11846 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11847 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11848 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11849 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11850 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11851 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11852 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11853 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11857 @node Summary Score Commands
11858 @section Summary Score Commands
11859 @cindex score commands
11861 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11862 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11863 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11864 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11865 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11867 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11868 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11869 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11870 score file the current one.
11872 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11877 @kindex V s (Summary)
11878 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11879 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11882 @kindex V S (Summary)
11883 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11884 Display the score of the current article
11885 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11888 @kindex V t (Summary)
11889 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11890 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11891 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11894 @kindex V R (Summary)
11895 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11896 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11897 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11898 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11899 effect you're having.
11902 @kindex V c (Summary)
11903 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11904 Make a different score file the current
11905 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11908 @kindex V e (Summary)
11909 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11910 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11911 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11915 @kindex V f (Summary)
11916 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11917 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11918 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11921 @kindex V F (Summary)
11922 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11923 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11924 after editing score files.
11927 @kindex V C (Summary)
11928 @findex gnus-score-customize
11929 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11930 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11934 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11939 @kindex V m (Summary)
11940 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11941 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11942 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11945 @kindex V x (Summary)
11946 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11947 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11948 expunge all articles below this score
11949 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11952 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11953 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
11956 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
11957 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
11961 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
11962 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
11964 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
11965 keys are available:
11969 Score on the author name.
11972 Score on the subject line.
11975 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
11978 Score on thread---the References line.
11984 Score on the number of lines.
11987 Score on the Message-ID.
11990 Score on followups.
12000 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12001 what headers you are scoring on.
12013 Substring matching.
12016 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12045 Greater than number.
12050 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12051 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12052 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12056 Temporary score entry.
12059 Permanent score entry.
12062 Immediately scoring.
12067 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12068 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12069 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12070 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12072 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12073 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12074 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12075 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12076 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12078 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12079 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12080 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12081 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12082 current score file.
12084 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12085 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12086 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12089 @node Group Score Commands
12090 @section Group Score Commands
12091 @cindex group score commands
12093 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12098 @kindex W f (Group)
12099 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12100 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12101 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12102 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12106 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12108 @findex gnus-batch-score
12109 @cindex batch scoring
12111 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
12115 @node Score Variables
12116 @section Score Variables
12117 @cindex score variables
12121 @item gnus-use-scoring
12122 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12123 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12124 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12126 @item gnus-kill-killed
12127 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12128 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12129 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12130 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12131 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12132 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12133 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12135 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12136 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12137 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12138 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12139 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12141 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12142 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12143 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12144 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12146 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12147 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12148 @cindex score cache
12149 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12150 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12151 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
12152 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12153 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12154 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12157 @item gnus-save-score
12158 @vindex gnus-save-score
12159 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12160 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12161 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12163 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12164 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12165 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12166 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12167 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12168 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12169 manually entered data.
12171 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12172 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12173 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12175 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12176 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12177 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12178 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12179 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12180 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12182 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12183 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12184 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12185 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12187 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12188 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12189 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12190 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12192 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12193 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12194 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12195 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12197 Predefined functions available are:
12200 @item gnus-score-find-single
12201 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12202 Only apply the group's own score file.
12204 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12205 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12206 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12207 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12208 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12209 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12210 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12211 then a regexp match is done.
12213 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12214 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12216 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12217 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12218 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12219 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12221 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12222 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12223 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12224 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12225 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12228 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12229 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12230 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12231 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12232 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12233 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12236 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12237 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12238 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12239 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12240 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12242 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12243 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12244 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12245 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12246 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12247 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12248 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12251 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12252 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12253 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12255 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12256 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12257 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12258 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12259 threading---according to the current value of
12260 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12261 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12262 simplified in this manner.
12267 @node Score File Format
12268 @section Score File Format
12269 @cindex score file format
12271 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12272 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12273 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12275 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12279 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12281 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12283 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12285 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12290 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12294 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12295 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12296 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12297 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12301 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12302 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12304 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12305 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12306 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12308 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12313 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12314 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12315 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12316 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12317 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12318 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12319 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12320 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12321 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12322 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12323 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12324 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12325 to articles that matches these score entries.
12327 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12328 score entry has one to four elements.
12332 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12333 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12337 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12338 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12339 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12340 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12341 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12342 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12345 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12346 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12347 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12348 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12349 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12352 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12353 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12354 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12355 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12358 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12359 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12360 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12361 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12362 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12363 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12364 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12365 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12366 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12367 instead, if you feel like.
12370 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12371 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12373 These predicates are true if
12376 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12379 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12380 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12387 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12388 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12389 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12390 it's not. I think.)
12392 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12393 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12394 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12395 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12398 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12399 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12400 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12401 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12402 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12403 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12404 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12408 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12409 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12410 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12411 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12412 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12413 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12414 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12415 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12418 @item Head, Body, All
12419 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12423 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12424 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12425 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12426 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12427 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12428 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12429 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12433 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12434 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
12435 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12436 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12437 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12438 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12439 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12440 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12441 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12442 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12446 @cindex Score File Atoms
12448 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12449 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12452 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12453 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12455 @item mark-and-expunge
12456 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12457 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12460 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12461 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12462 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12463 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12464 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12467 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12468 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12471 @item exclude-files
12472 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12473 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12477 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12478 ignored when handling global score files.
12481 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12482 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12483 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12484 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
12487 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12488 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12489 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12490 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12492 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12496 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12499 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12500 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12501 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12502 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12503 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12505 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12506 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12507 ordinary scoring rules.
12510 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12511 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12512 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12513 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12514 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12515 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12516 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12517 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12518 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12519 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12520 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12524 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12525 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12526 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12527 file for a number of groups.
12530 @cindex local variables
12531 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12532 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12533 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12534 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12535 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12539 @node Score File Editing
12540 @section Score File Editing
12542 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12543 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12544 with a mode for that.
12546 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12547 additional commands:
12552 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12553 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12554 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12555 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12558 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12559 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12560 Insert the current date in numerical format
12561 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12562 you were wondering.
12565 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12566 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12567 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12568 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12569 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12574 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12576 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12577 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12579 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12580 e} to begin editing score files.
12583 @node Adaptive Scoring
12584 @section Adaptive Scoring
12585 @cindex adaptive scoring
12587 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12588 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12589 stupidity, to be precise.
12591 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12592 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12593 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12594 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12595 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12596 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12597 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12598 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12599 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12601 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12602 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12603 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12604 might look something like this:
12607 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12608 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12609 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12610 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12611 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12612 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12613 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12614 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12615 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12616 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12617 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12618 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12621 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12622 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12623 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12624 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12625 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12626 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12629 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12630 will be applied to each article.
12632 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12633 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12634 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12635 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12637 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12638 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12639 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12640 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12642 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12643 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12644 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12645 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12647 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12648 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12649 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12650 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12651 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12652 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12654 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12655 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12656 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12657 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12658 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12659 aspirins afterwards.)
12661 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12662 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12663 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12665 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12666 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12667 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12669 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12670 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12671 let you use different rules in different groups.
12673 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12674 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12675 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12678 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12679 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12680 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12681 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12682 the length of the match is less than
12683 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12684 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12687 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12688 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12689 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12690 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12691 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12694 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12695 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12696 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12697 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12698 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12701 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12702 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12703 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12704 score with 30 points.
12706 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12707 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12708 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12709 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12710 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12712 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12713 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12714 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12715 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12717 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
12718 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
12719 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
12720 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
12722 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12723 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12724 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12726 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12727 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12728 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12729 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12732 @node Home Score File
12733 @section Home Score File
12735 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12736 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12737 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12738 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12740 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12741 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12742 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12744 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12745 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12750 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12754 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12755 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12759 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12763 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12764 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12767 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12768 the home score file.
12771 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12774 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12779 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12782 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12783 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12786 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12787 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12790 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12791 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12794 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12796 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12797 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12798 their own home score files:
12801 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12802 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12803 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12804 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12805 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
12808 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12809 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12810 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12811 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12812 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12814 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12815 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12816 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12817 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12818 precedence over this variable.
12821 @node Followups To Yourself
12822 @section Followups To Yourself
12824 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12825 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12826 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12827 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12828 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12829 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12833 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12834 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12835 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12838 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12839 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12840 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12844 @vindex message-sent-hook
12845 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12846 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12848 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12849 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12853 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12854 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12857 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12858 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12863 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12867 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12868 is system-dependent.
12872 @section Scoring Tips
12873 @cindex scoring tips
12879 @cindex scoring crossposts
12880 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12881 the @code{Xref} header.
12883 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12886 @item Multiple crossposts
12887 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12888 more than, say, 3 groups:
12890 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12893 @item Matching on the body
12894 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12895 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12896 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12897 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12898 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12899 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12900 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12903 @item Marking as read
12904 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12905 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12906 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12910 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12912 @item Negated character classes
12913 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12914 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12915 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12919 @node Reverse Scoring
12920 @section Reverse Scoring
12921 @cindex reverse scoring
12923 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12924 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12925 like this in your score file:
12929 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12934 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12935 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12938 @node Global Score Files
12939 @section Global Score Files
12940 @cindex global score files
12942 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12943 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
12944 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
12946 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
12947 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
12948 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
12950 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
12951 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
12952 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
12953 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
12954 files are applicable to which group.
12956 Say you want to use the score file
12957 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
12958 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
12961 (setq gnus-global-score-files
12962 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
12963 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
12966 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
12967 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
12968 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
12969 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
12970 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
12972 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
12973 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
12975 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
12976 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
12977 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
12978 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
12979 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
12980 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
12982 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
12988 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
12990 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
12992 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
12994 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
12995 lowered out of existence.
12997 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
12998 articles completely.
13001 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13002 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13003 old articles for a long time.
13006 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13007 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13008 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13009 holding our breath yet?
13013 @section Kill Files
13016 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13017 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13018 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13020 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13021 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13022 files into score files.
13024 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13025 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13026 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13027 that isn't a very good idea.
13029 Normal kill files look like this:
13032 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13033 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13037 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13038 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13040 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13041 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13044 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13049 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13050 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13051 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13054 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13055 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13056 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13059 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13064 @kindex M-k (Group)
13065 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13066 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13069 @kindex M-K (Group)
13070 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13071 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13074 Kill file variables:
13077 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13078 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13079 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13080 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13081 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13082 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13083 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13085 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13086 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13087 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13088 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13091 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13092 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13093 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13094 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13095 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13096 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13097 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13098 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13099 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13101 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13102 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13103 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13108 @node Converting Kill Files
13109 @section Converting Kill Files
13111 @cindex converting kill files
13113 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13114 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13115 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13118 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13119 You can fetch it from
13120 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13122 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13123 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13124 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13132 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13133 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13134 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13136 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13137 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13138 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13139 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13140 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13141 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13142 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13143 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13147 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13148 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13149 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13150 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13154 @node Using GroupLens
13155 @subsection Using GroupLens
13157 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13159 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13160 better bit in town at the moment.
13162 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13166 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13167 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13168 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13169 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13171 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13172 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13173 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13174 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13176 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13177 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13178 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13182 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13183 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13184 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13185 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13186 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13187 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13190 @node Rating Articles
13191 @subsection Rating Articles
13193 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13194 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13195 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13196 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13199 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13204 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13205 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13206 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13209 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13210 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13211 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13212 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13213 threads in rec.humor.
13217 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13218 the score of the article you're reading.
13223 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13224 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13225 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13228 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13229 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13230 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13234 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13235 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13238 @node Displaying Predictions
13239 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13241 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13242 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13243 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13244 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13245 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13247 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13248 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13249 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13250 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13251 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13252 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13253 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13254 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13255 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13256 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13257 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13258 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13259 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13261 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13262 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13263 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13264 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13266 The following are valid values for that variable.
13269 @item prediction-spot
13270 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13273 @item confidence-interval
13274 A numeric confidence interval.
13276 @item prediction-bar
13277 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13279 @item confidence-bar
13280 Numerical confidence.
13282 @item confidence-spot
13283 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13285 @item prediction-num
13286 Plain-old numeric value.
13288 @item confidence-plus-minus
13289 Prediction +/- confidence.
13294 @node GroupLens Variables
13295 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13299 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13300 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13301 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13302 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13305 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13306 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13309 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13310 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13312 @item grouplens-score-offset
13313 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13314 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13317 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13318 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13319 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13324 @node Advanced Scoring
13325 @section Advanced Scoring
13327 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13328 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13329 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13330 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13331 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13333 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13337 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13338 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13339 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13343 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13344 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13346 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13347 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13348 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13349 non-@code{nil} value.
13351 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13352 operator, and various match operators.
13359 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13360 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13361 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13366 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13367 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13368 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13373 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13374 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13378 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13379 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13380 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13381 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13382 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13383 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13384 the ancestry you want to go.
13386 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13387 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13388 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13389 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13390 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13393 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13394 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13396 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13397 when he's talking about Gnus:
13401 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13402 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13408 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13412 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13419 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13420 really don't want to read what he's written:
13424 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13425 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13429 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13430 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13431 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13438 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13439 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13440 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13441 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13445 The possibilities are endless.
13448 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13449 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13451 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13452 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13453 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13454 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13455 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13456 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13457 @samp{subject}) first.
13459 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13460 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13471 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13472 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13478 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13485 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13486 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13491 @section Score Decays
13492 @cindex score decays
13495 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13496 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13497 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13498 use them in any sensible way.
13500 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13501 @findex gnus-decay-score
13502 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
13503 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13504 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13505 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13506 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13507 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
13508 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13509 definition of that function:
13512 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13513 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13516 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13518 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13520 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13523 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13524 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13525 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13526 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13530 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13533 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13536 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13540 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13541 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13542 the new score, which should be an integer.
13544 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13545 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13552 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13553 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13554 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13555 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13556 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13557 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13558 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13559 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13560 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13561 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13562 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13563 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13564 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13565 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13566 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13567 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13568 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
13569 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13573 @node Process/Prefix
13574 @section Process/Prefix
13575 @cindex process/prefix convention
13577 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13578 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13580 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13581 command to be performed on.
13585 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13586 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13587 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13588 with the current one.
13590 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13591 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13592 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13594 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13595 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13598 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13599 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13601 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13604 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13605 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13606 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13607 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13609 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13610 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13611 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13612 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13613 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13614 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13615 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13616 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13620 @section Interactive
13621 @cindex interaction
13625 @item gnus-novice-user
13626 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13627 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13628 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13629 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13630 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13633 @item gnus-expert-user
13634 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13635 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
13636 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13637 matter how strange.
13639 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13640 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13641 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13642 is @code{t} by default.
13644 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13645 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13646 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13651 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13652 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13653 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13655 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13656 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
13657 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13658 rule of 900 to the current article.
13660 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13661 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13662 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13663 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13664 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13665 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13666 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13668 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13669 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13670 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13671 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13672 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13673 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13674 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13675 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13676 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13678 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13679 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13680 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13682 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13686 @node Formatting Variables
13687 @section Formatting Variables
13688 @cindex formatting variables
13690 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
13691 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13692 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13693 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13694 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13697 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13698 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13699 lots of percentages everywhere.
13702 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13703 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
13704 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13705 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13706 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13709 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13710 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13711 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13712 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13713 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13714 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13715 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13716 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13718 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13719 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13721 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13722 @findex gnus-update-format
13723 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13724 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13725 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13726 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13730 @node Formatting Basics
13731 @subsection Formatting Basics
13733 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13734 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13735 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13737 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13738 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13739 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13740 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13741 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13744 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13745 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13746 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13747 less than 4 characters wide.
13750 @node Mode Line Formatting
13751 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
13753 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
13754 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
13755 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
13756 with the following two differences:
13761 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
13764 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
13765 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
13766 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
13767 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
13768 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
13769 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
13770 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
13775 @node Advanced Formatting
13776 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13778 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13779 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13780 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13781 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13783 These are the valid modifiers:
13788 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13792 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13797 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13800 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13805 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13808 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13811 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13814 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13818 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13819 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13820 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13821 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13822 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13823 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13824 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13826 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13827 last operation, padding.
13829 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13830 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13831 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13832 @xref{Compilation}.
13835 @node User-Defined Specs
13836 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13838 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13839 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13840 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13841 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13842 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13843 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13844 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13845 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13846 should protect against that.
13848 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13849 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13850 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13851 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13855 @node Formatting Fonts
13856 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13858 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13859 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13860 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13861 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13864 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
13865 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13866 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13867 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13868 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13869 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13871 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13874 ;; Create three face types.
13875 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13876 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13878 ;; We want the article count to be in
13879 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13880 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13881 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13883 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13884 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13886 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13887 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13888 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13891 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13892 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13894 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13895 mode-line variables.
13898 @node Windows Configuration
13899 @section Windows Configuration
13900 @cindex windows configuration
13902 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13904 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13905 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13906 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13907 @code{t} by default.
13909 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13910 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13911 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13914 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13915 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13916 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13920 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13921 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13922 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13923 possible names is listed below.
13925 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13926 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13929 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13933 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13934 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13935 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13936 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13937 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13938 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13939 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13940 size spec per split.
13942 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13943 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
13944 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
13945 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
13946 present) gets focus.
13948 Here's a more complicated example:
13951 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
13952 (summary 0.25 point)
13953 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
13957 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
13958 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
13959 occupy, not a percentage.
13961 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
13962 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
13963 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
13964 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
13965 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
13968 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
13971 (article (horizontal 1.0
13976 (summary 0.25 point)
13981 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
13982 @code{horizontal} thingie?
13984 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
13985 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
13986 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
13987 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
13988 the screen is to be given to this strip.
13990 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
13991 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
13992 lines from the splits.
13994 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
13998 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
13999 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14000 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14001 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14002 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14003 size = number | frame-params
14004 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14007 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14008 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14009 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14010 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14012 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14013 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14014 @cindex window height
14015 @cindex window width
14016 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14017 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14018 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14019 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14020 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14021 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14023 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14024 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14025 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14026 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14028 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14029 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14030 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14031 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14032 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14033 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14034 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14035 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14036 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14037 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14038 configuration list.
14041 (gnus-configure-frame
14045 (article 0.3 point))
14053 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14054 @code{frame} split:
14057 (gnus-configure-frame
14060 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14062 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14063 (user-position . t)
14064 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14069 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14070 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14071 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14072 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14073 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14074 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14075 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14076 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14079 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14080 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14082 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14083 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14084 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14085 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14086 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14087 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14089 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14090 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14091 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14095 (message (horizontal 1.0
14096 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14098 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14103 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14104 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14105 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14106 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14107 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14110 (gnus-add-configuration
14111 '(article (vertical 1.0
14113 (summary .25 point)
14117 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14118 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14119 Gnus has been loaded.
14121 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14122 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14123 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14124 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14125 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14128 @node Faces and Fonts
14129 @section Faces and Fonts
14134 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14135 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14136 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14141 @section Compilation
14142 @cindex compilation
14143 @cindex byte-compilation
14145 @findex gnus-compile
14147 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14148 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14149 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14150 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14151 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14152 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14155 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14156 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14157 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14158 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14159 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14160 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14161 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14165 @section Mode Lines
14168 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14169 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14170 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14171 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14172 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14173 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14174 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14177 @cindex display-time
14179 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14180 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14181 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14182 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14183 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14184 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14185 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14186 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14189 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14191 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14192 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14194 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14195 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14196 (length display-time-string)))))
14199 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14200 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14201 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14202 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14203 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14206 @node Highlighting and Menus
14207 @section Highlighting and Menus
14209 @cindex highlighting
14212 @vindex gnus-visual
14213 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14214 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14215 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14218 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14219 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14222 @item group-highlight
14223 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14224 @item summary-highlight
14225 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14226 @item article-highlight
14227 Do highlights in the article buffer.
14229 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14231 Create menus in the group buffer.
14233 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14235 Create menus in the article buffer.
14237 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14239 Create menus in the server buffer.
14241 Create menus in the score buffers.
14243 Create menus in all buffers.
14246 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14247 buffers, you could say something like:
14250 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14253 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14256 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14259 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14260 in all Gnus buffers.
14262 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14265 @item gnus-mouse-face
14266 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14267 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14268 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14272 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14276 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14277 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14278 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14280 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14281 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14282 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14284 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14285 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14286 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14288 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14289 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14290 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14292 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14293 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14294 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14296 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14297 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14298 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14309 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14310 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14311 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14312 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14313 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14317 @vindex gnus-carpal
14318 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14319 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14320 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14325 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14326 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14327 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14329 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14330 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14331 Face used on buttons.
14333 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14334 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14335 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14337 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14338 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14339 Buttons in the group buffer.
14341 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14342 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14343 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14345 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14346 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14347 Buttons in the server buffer.
14349 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14350 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14351 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14354 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14355 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14356 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14364 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14365 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14366 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14367 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14368 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14370 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14371 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14372 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14374 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14375 been idle for thirty minutes:
14378 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14381 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14385 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14388 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14389 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14390 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14392 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14393 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14394 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14395 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14397 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14398 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14399 @var{idle} minutes.
14401 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14402 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14405 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14406 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14407 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14409 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14410 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14411 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14412 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14414 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14415 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14416 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14418 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14419 your @file{.gnus} file:
14421 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14423 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14426 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14427 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14428 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14429 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14430 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14431 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14432 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14433 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14434 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14435 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14436 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14438 @findex gnus-demon-init
14439 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14440 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14441 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14442 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14443 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14445 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
14446 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14447 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14456 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14457 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14459 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14460 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14461 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14462 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14465 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14466 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14467 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14468 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14470 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14471 this will make spam disappear.
14473 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14476 @item gnus-use-nocem
14477 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14478 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14481 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14482 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14483 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14484 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14485 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14487 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14488 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14489 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14490 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14491 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14492 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14493 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14495 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14498 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14499 @cindex Chris Lewis
14500 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14501 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14504 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14505 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14506 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14508 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14510 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14513 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14514 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14515 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14518 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14519 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14520 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14521 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14522 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14523 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14524 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14525 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14526 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14527 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14529 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14530 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14533 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14536 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14537 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14540 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14543 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14546 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14547 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14549 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14550 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14551 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14552 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14554 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14555 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14558 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14560 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14568 This might be dangerous, though.
14570 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14571 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14572 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14573 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14575 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14576 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14577 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14578 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14579 might then see old spam.
14583 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14584 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14585 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14586 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14593 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14594 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14595 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14597 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14598 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14599 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14600 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14601 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14602 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14603 @code{undo} function.
14605 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14606 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14607 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14608 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14609 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14610 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14611 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14612 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14613 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14614 never be totally undoable.
14616 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14617 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14619 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14620 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14621 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14622 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14627 @section Moderation
14630 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14631 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14632 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14635 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14639 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14642 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14644 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14649 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14650 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14651 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14654 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14655 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14658 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14659 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14663 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14666 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14667 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14671 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14672 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14675 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14679 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14680 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14681 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14682 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14695 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14696 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14697 over your shoulder as you read news.
14700 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14701 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14702 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14703 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14704 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14709 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14711 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14720 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14721 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14722 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14723 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14724 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14725 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14726 @code{GIF} formats.
14729 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14730 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
14731 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
14732 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string
14733 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
14735 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14736 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
14737 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at
14738 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
14739 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14740 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14743 @node Picon Requirements
14744 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14746 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14747 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14750 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
14751 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
14752 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
14754 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14755 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
14756 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
14757 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14758 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14762 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14764 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14765 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14768 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14769 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14770 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14773 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
14774 containing the Picons databases.
14776 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
14779 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
14784 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14792 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14793 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14794 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14795 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14796 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
14801 @item gnus-picons-database
14802 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14803 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14804 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14805 subdirectories. This is only useful if
14806 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
14807 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
14809 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14810 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14811 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
14812 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
14813 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
14814 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
14815 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14817 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14818 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14819 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14820 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14821 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14822 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14823 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14824 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14826 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14827 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14828 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
14833 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14834 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14836 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
14837 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
14840 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14841 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14843 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14844 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14845 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14846 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14847 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14849 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14850 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14851 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14852 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14856 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14857 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14860 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14864 @node Picon Useless Configuration
14865 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
14873 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14874 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14875 don't need to worry about.
14879 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
14880 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
14881 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14882 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
14884 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14885 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14886 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14887 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14889 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14890 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14891 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14892 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14893 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
14895 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14896 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14897 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
14898 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14899 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14900 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14901 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14903 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14904 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14905 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14906 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14908 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14909 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14910 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
14911 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
14912 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
14913 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
14914 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
14916 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14917 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14918 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
14919 Defaults to @code{nil}.
14921 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
14922 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
14923 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
14924 Defaults to @code{t}.
14926 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
14927 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
14928 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
14929 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
14931 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
14932 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
14933 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
14934 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
14936 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
14937 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
14938 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
14939 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
14940 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
14941 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
14942 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
14943 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
14954 @subsection Smileys
14959 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
14964 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
14965 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
14967 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
14968 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14971 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
14974 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
14975 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
14976 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
14977 text and maps that to file names.
14979 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14980 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
14981 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
14982 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
14983 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
14984 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
14986 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
14987 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
14989 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
14990 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
14991 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
14993 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
14994 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
14998 @item smiley-data-directory
14999 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15000 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15002 @item smiley-flesh-color
15003 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15004 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15006 @item smiley-features-color
15007 @vindex smiley-features-color
15008 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15010 @item smiley-tongue-color
15011 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15012 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15014 @item smiley-circle-color
15015 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15016 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15018 @item smiley-mouse-face
15019 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15020 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15026 @subsection Toolbar
15036 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15037 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15038 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15039 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15040 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15042 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15043 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15044 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15046 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15047 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15048 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15050 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15051 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15052 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15058 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15061 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15062 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15063 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15064 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15065 unusual directory structure.
15067 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15068 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15069 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15070 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15072 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15073 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15074 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15075 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15076 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15077 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15079 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15080 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15081 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15095 @node Fuzzy Matching
15096 @section Fuzzy Matching
15097 @cindex fuzzy matching
15099 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15100 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15102 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15103 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15104 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15106 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15107 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15108 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15109 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15110 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15113 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15114 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15118 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15120 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15121 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15122 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15123 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15124 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15125 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15126 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15127 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15130 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15131 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15132 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15133 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15134 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15135 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15139 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15140 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15142 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15143 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15144 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15145 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15146 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15147 part of the mail address.)
15150 (setq message-default-news-headers
15151 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15154 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15155 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15160 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15161 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15162 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15168 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15169 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15170 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15171 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15173 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15174 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15175 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15176 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15177 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15178 your fancy split rule in this way:
15183 (to "larsi" "misc")
15187 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15188 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15189 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15190 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15191 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15193 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15194 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15195 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15196 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15197 cosmic balance somewhat.
15199 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15200 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15201 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15202 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15205 @node Various Various
15206 @section Various Various
15212 @item gnus-home-directory
15213 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15214 defaults to @file{~/}.
15216 @item gnus-directory
15217 @vindex gnus-directory
15218 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15219 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15220 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15222 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15223 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15224 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15225 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15227 @item gnus-default-directory
15228 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15229 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15230 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15231 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15232 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15233 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15234 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15237 @vindex gnus-verbose
15238 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15239 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15240 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15241 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15242 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15244 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15245 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15246 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15247 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15249 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15250 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15251 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15252 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15253 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15254 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15255 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15256 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15257 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15258 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15260 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15261 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15262 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15263 read when doing the operation described above.
15265 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15266 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15268 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15269 @cindex characters in file names
15270 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15271 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15272 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15275 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15279 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15280 Windows (phooey) systems.
15282 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15283 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15284 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15285 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15286 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15288 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15289 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15290 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15291 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15292 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15294 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15295 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15296 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15305 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15306 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15308 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15310 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15316 Not because of victories @*
15319 but for the common sunshine,@*
15321 the largess of the spring.
15325 but for the day's work done@*
15326 as well as I was able;@*
15327 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15328 but at the common table.@*
15333 @chapter Appendices
15336 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15337 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15338 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15339 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15340 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15341 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15342 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15350 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15351 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15353 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15354 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15355 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15356 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15357 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15359 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15360 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15361 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15362 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15363 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15364 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15366 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15367 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15368 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15369 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15371 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15372 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15373 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15375 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15376 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15378 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15379 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
15381 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15382 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15383 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15384 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15385 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15389 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15390 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15391 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15392 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15393 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15394 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15395 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15402 What's the point of Gnus?
15404 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15405 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15406 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15407 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15408 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15409 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15410 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15411 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15412 keep track of millions of people who post?
15414 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15415 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15416 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15417 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15418 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15419 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15420 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15421 every one of you to explore and invent.
15423 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15424 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15427 @node Compatibility
15428 @subsection Compatibility
15430 @cindex compatibility
15431 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15432 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15433 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15438 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15442 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15445 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15448 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15449 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15450 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15451 important variables have their values copied into their global
15452 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15453 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15455 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15456 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15457 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15458 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15459 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15463 @cindex highlighting
15464 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15465 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15466 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15467 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15468 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15469 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15472 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15473 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15474 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15475 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15477 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15478 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15479 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15480 to stop doing it the old way.
15482 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15484 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15486 @cindex reporting bugs
15488 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15489 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15490 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15492 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
15493 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
15494 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
15495 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
15500 @subsection Conformity
15502 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15503 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15510 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15514 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15516 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15517 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15518 We do have some breaches to this one.
15523 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15524 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15527 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15528 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15529 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15530 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15531 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15536 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15537 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15542 @subsection Emacsen
15548 Gnus should work on :
15553 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15556 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15559 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15563 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15564 reliably, at least.
15566 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15567 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15568 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15573 @subsection Contributors
15574 @cindex contributors
15576 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15577 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15578 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15579 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15580 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15581 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15582 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15583 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15584 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15585 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15587 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15593 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15596 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15597 well as numerous other things).
15600 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15603 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15606 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15607 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15610 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15613 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15614 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15617 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15620 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15623 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15626 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15629 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15630 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15633 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15636 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15639 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15642 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15646 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15649 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15652 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15655 Fran
\e$BmP
\e(Bis Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
15656 well as autoconf support.
15660 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15661 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15663 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15668 David K
\e$BiH
\e(Bedal,
15672 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15676 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15698 Massimo Campostrini,
15705 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15711 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15714 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
15718 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15724 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15726 Michelangelo Grigni,
15729 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
15731 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
15733 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15738 Fran
\e$BmP
\e(Bis Felix Ingrand,
15739 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15741 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
15749 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15750 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15751 Thor Kristoffersen,
15753 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
15770 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15771 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15778 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15782 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
15784 John McClary Prevost,
15789 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
15794 Christian von Roques,
15796 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
15802 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15804 Randal L. Schwartz,
15832 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
15834 Shenghuo Zhu. @c Zhu
15836 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15837 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15838 (550kB and counting).
15840 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15843 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15844 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15848 @subsection New Features
15849 @cindex new features
15852 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15853 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15854 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15855 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6.22.
15858 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15859 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15860 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15864 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15866 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15871 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15872 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15875 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15876 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15879 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15882 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15883 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15884 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15887 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15888 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15889 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15890 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15893 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15894 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15897 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15898 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15899 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15902 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15903 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15906 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15907 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15908 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15911 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15912 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15913 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15916 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15917 the @file{.emacs} file.
15920 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15921 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15924 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15925 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15928 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15929 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15932 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15933 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15936 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15937 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15940 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
15943 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
15944 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
15947 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
15948 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
15951 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
15952 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
15955 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
15958 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
15959 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15962 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
15966 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
15970 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
15971 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
15974 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
15980 @node September Gnus
15981 @subsubsection September Gnus
15985 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
15989 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
15994 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
15995 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
15999 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16000 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16004 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16008 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16009 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16012 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16016 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16019 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16022 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16025 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16029 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16030 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16033 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16037 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16041 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16045 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16049 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16052 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16053 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16056 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16060 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16061 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16064 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16067 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16068 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16069 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16072 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16076 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16079 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16083 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16084 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16087 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16088 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16091 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16092 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16095 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16096 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16097 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16100 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16101 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16104 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16107 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16110 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16111 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16115 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16118 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16121 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16122 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16125 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16129 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16132 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16137 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16140 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16144 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16147 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16151 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16154 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16157 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16158 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16161 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16162 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16166 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16167 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16170 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16174 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16175 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16178 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16181 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16185 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16189 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16190 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16193 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16197 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16198 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16201 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16202 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16205 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16209 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16212 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16213 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16217 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16220 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16226 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16228 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16232 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16239 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16242 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16243 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16246 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16247 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16251 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16252 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16255 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16258 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16259 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16262 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16266 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16267 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16271 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16272 Server Internals}).
16275 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16279 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16282 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16283 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16286 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16287 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16288 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16291 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16292 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16295 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16296 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16299 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16303 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16304 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16307 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16308 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16311 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16315 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16318 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16322 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16323 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16326 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16327 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16330 A new command for reading collections of documents
16331 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16332 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16335 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16339 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16340 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16343 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16344 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16345 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16348 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16349 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16353 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16357 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16361 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16366 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16370 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16374 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16375 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16378 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16381 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16388 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16390 New features in Gnus 5.6.22:
16395 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16396 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16397 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16400 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16401 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16402 group, which is created automatically.
16405 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16409 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16412 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16413 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16416 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16420 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16423 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16424 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16427 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16430 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16431 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16434 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
16435 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
16438 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
16439 control over simplification.
16442 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
16445 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
16449 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
16452 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16455 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
16456 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
16457 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
16460 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
16461 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
16464 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
16468 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
16469 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
16472 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
16473 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
16476 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
16480 A history of where mails have been split is available.
16483 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
16486 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
16487 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
16490 A new function for citing in Message has been
16491 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
16494 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
16497 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
16501 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
16502 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
16505 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
16506 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
16509 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
16512 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
16517 @node Newest Features
16518 @subsection Newest Features
16521 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16524 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16526 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16527 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
16530 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
16535 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
16538 Really do unbinhexing.
16541 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
16542 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
16545 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
16548 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
16551 facep is not declared.
16554 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
16555 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
16558 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
16563 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
16564 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
16565 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
16566 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
16567 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
16568 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
16569 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
16574 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
16577 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
16580 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
16582 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
16583 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
16585 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
16587 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
16589 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
16590 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
16592 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
16594 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
16595 be marked as unread.
16597 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
16599 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
16601 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
16602 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
16604 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
16606 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
16608 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
16609 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
16611 topics that contain just groups with ticked
16612 articles aren't displayed.
16614 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
16616 implement gnus-score-thread
16618 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
16619 make the mail groups killed.
16621 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
16623 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
16624 and articles have to be removed.
16626 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
16629 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
16631 finding short score file names takes forever.
16633 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16635 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
16637 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
16639 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
16641 nnweb doesn't work properly.
16643 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
16645 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
16646 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
16650 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
16652 really unbinhex binhex files.
16654 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
16655 bar and the Gnus bar.
16658 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
16659 `(canonize-message-id id)'
16660 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
16661 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
16662 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
16663 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
16668 nnml .overview directory with splits.
16672 postponed commands.
16674 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
16676 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
16679 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
16680 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
16682 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
16683 inherit copy prompts and save files.
16685 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
16687 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
16688 for backends that support that.
16690 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
16692 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
16693 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
16695 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
16696 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
16698 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
16700 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
16702 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
16704 server mode command: close/open all connections
16706 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
16707 has been changed before using it.
16709 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
16711 hide (sub)threads with low score.
16713 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
16715 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
16717 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
16718 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
16720 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
16721 contain groups that match a regexp.
16723 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
16726 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
16729 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
16730 from subject lines.
16732 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
16734 nntp-ping-before-connect
16736 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
16738 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
16739 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
16741 message annotations.
16743 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
16745 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
16746 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
16748 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
16753 support qmail maildir spools
16755 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
16757 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
16759 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
16761 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
16762 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
16764 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
16766 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
16768 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
16769 finds and generate proper active ranges.
16771 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
16772 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
16774 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
16776 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
16778 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
16779 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
16781 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
16783 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
16785 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
16786 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
16789 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
16791 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
16793 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
16794 `C-c C-c' when posting.
16796 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
16799 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
16800 should be marker as expirable.
16802 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
16804 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
16805 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
16807 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
16808 Also consult Date headers.
16810 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
16812 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
16814 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
16815 Message-ID, delete the "original".
16817 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
16818 into a See-Also header.
16820 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
16822 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
16824 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
16825 should be listed as such and not as "K".
16827 generate font names dynamically.
16829 score file mode auto-alist.
16831 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
16832 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
16834 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
16835 absolutely all headers there is.
16837 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
16838 and pipe them to the process.
16840 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
16841 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
16842 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
16844 function for starting to edit a file to put into
16845 the current mail group.
16847 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
16849 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
16850 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
16852 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
16853 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
16855 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
16857 when replying to several process-marked articles,
16858 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
16860 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
16861 groups it has been mailed to.
16863 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
16865 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
16867 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
16869 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
16870 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
16872 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
16873 newlines) should be ignored.
16875 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
16876 groups in subtopics as well.
16878 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
16880 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
16883 add edit and forward secondary marks.
16885 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
16887 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
16889 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
16891 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
16893 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
16895 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
16896 or the formatted article.
16898 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
16900 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
16901 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
16903 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
16905 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
16907 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
16909 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
16910 even unread articles.
16912 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
16914 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
16916 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
16918 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
16920 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16922 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
16925 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
16926 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
16928 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
16929 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
16931 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
16933 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
16935 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
16936 from a particular server? Hm.
16938 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
16939 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
16941 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
16943 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
16944 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
16946 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
16947 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
16949 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
16950 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
16951 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
16954 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
16955 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
16957 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
16959 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
16961 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
16963 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
16966 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
16969 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
16970 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
16972 command to show and edit group scores
16974 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
16977 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
16979 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
16981 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
16982 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
16985 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
16986 that are of that length.
16988 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
16990 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
16992 asynchronous posting under nntp.
16994 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
16996 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
16998 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17000 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17001 a score lower than this number.
17003 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17005 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17007 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17008 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17010 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17012 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17013 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17015 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17018 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17019 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17020 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17021 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17023 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17026 command to remove all topic stuff.
17028 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17029 and splitting the resulting digests.
17031 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17033 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17035 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17036 matches an alist -- before saving.
17038 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17040 variable to activate each group before entering them
17041 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17043 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17044 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17046 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17047 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17049 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17051 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17052 of several groups at once.
17054 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17055 matches some regexp(s).
17057 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17059 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17061 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17063 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17065 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17067 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17069 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17071 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17072 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17073 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17074 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17076 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17077 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17079 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17081 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17082 recently cited text.
17084 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17086 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17089 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17090 server and just read the articles in the server
17092 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17093 value of nnoo variables.
17095 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17097 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17098 listed in each group info.
17100 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17103 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17104 should only be applied to some groups.
17106 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17107 mail-copies-to: never.
17109 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17110 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17112 the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
17114 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17117 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17120 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17122 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17125 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17129 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17131 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17132 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17133 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17134 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17135 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17137 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at
17138 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17145 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17146 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17148 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17149 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17151 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17152 "Return the date the group was last read."
17153 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17158 tanken var at n
\e$BiS
\e(B du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til
\92é
\81lete
17159 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den v
\e$BkS
\e(Be en
17160 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17161 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17165 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17166 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17168 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17171 They could be used like this:
17175 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17176 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17177 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17179 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17181 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17184 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17187 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17188 affect the summary line format.
17192 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17194 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17195 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17197 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17200 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17202 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17204 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17206 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17208 - For other files, just find them normally.
17210 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17211 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17214 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17215 tell him what you are doing.
17218 Currently, I get prompted:
17222 decend into sci.something ?
17226 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17227 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17228 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17229 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17232 Ja, det burde v
\e$BkS
\e(Be en m
\e$BiU
\e(Be
\92é
\81si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17233 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? S
\92é
\81kunne score-regler legges til den
17234 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17235 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17238 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17239 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17245 more than n blank lines
17247 more than m identical lines
17248 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17250 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17254 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17255 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17256 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17257 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17260 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17261 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17262 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17263 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17266 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17269 soup - bowl of soup
17270 score below - dim light bulb
17271 score over - bright light bulb
17274 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17279 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17280 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17281 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17282 if (articles-selected)
17283 start-reading-selected-articles;
17284 junk-unread-articles;
17289 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17290 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17291 select-thread-under-cursor;
17293 select-article-under-cursor;
17297 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17298 if (more-pages-in-article)
17300 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17307 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17308 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17309 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17312 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17313 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17314 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17315 the wildcard expression).
17318 It would be nice if it also handled
17320 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17322 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17327 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17328 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17329 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17330 article versions) variable.
17332 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17334 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17335 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17339 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17342 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17343 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17344 (message-sent-hook).
17346 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17349 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17353 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17354 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17357 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17358 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17359 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17362 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17363 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17367 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17370 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17374 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17375 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17378 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17379 value of the signature file.
17382 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17383 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17386 (setq message-tab-alist
17387 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17388 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17390 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17394 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17397 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17400 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17403 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17404 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17407 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17410 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17411 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17412 do more gathering by subject.
17415 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17416 article numerical order.
17419 (gnus-thread-total-score
17420 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17424 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17427 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17428 in the summary buffer.
17431 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17432 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17435 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17436 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
17437 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
17438 and/or newsgroup name.
17441 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
17444 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
17447 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
17450 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
17451 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
17452 will automatically get the process mark.
17455 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
17456 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
17457 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
17460 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
17464 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
17465 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
17468 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
17469 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
17473 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17474 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17477 be able to post via DejaNews.
17480 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17483 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
17484 allow them to be displayed separately.
17487 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17488 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17491 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17492 articles that match a certain From header.
17495 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17496 saving living summary buffers.
17499 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17500 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17503 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17504 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17507 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17508 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17511 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17512 (goto-char (point-min))
17513 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17514 (replace-match "`" t t))
17515 (goto-char (point-min))
17516 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17517 (replace-match "'" t t))
17518 (goto-char (point-min))
17519 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17520 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17521 (goto-char (point-min))
17522 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17523 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17528 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17530 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
17531 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
17532 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
17533 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
17537 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
17540 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
17541 numbers and match on the age of the article.
17544 gnus-cacheable-groups
17548 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
17549 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
17550 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
17552 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
17553 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
17555 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
17556 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
17561 all commands that react to the process mark should push
17562 the current process mark set onto the stack.
17565 gnus-article-hide-pgp
17566 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt
\92é
\81slette den dersom teksten matcher
17568 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
17570 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
17571 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
17574 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
17575 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
17578 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
17582 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
17583 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
17586 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
17589 nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
17592 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
17595 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
17599 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
17605 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
17608 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
17612 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
17613 X characters in the body.
17616 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
17619 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
17622 format spec to "tab" to a position.
17625 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
17628 command to display all dormant articles.
17631 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
17634 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
17635 to something someone else has said.
17638 Read Netscape discussion groups:
17639 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
17642 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
17643 the displayed version.
17646 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
17650 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
17653 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
17654 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
17655 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
17659 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
17660 in the head or body.
17663 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
17666 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
17669 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
17670 in a special, unique buffer.
17673 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
17676 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
17677 is less than a certain number of days old.
17680 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
17683 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
17686 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
17687 file, for instance.
17690 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
17691 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
17692 dummy root instead of the first article.
17695 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
17696 topics for displaying.
17699 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
17700 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
17703 Solve the halting problem.
17712 @section The Manual
17716 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
17717 either @code{texi2dvi}
17719 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
17720 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
17722 to get what you hold in your hands now.
17724 The following conventions have been used:
17729 This is a @samp{string}
17732 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
17735 This is a @file{file}
17738 This is a @code{symbol}
17742 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
17746 (setq flargnoze "yes")
17749 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
17752 (setq flumphel 'yes)
17755 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
17756 ever get them confused.
17760 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
17761 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
17762 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
17763 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
17764 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
17765 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
17766 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
17774 @section Terminology
17776 @cindex terminology
17781 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
17782 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
17783 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
17784 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
17785 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
17789 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
17790 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
17791 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
17792 not posting, and replying is not following up.
17796 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
17800 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
17805 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
17806 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
17807 is all done by the backends.
17811 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
17812 default, way of getting news.
17816 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
17817 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
17822 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
17823 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
17827 A message that has been posted as news.
17830 @cindex mail message
17831 A message that has been mailed.
17835 A mail message or news article
17839 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
17844 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
17849 A line from the head of an article.
17853 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
17854 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
17858 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
17859 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
17860 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
17861 normal @sc{head} format.
17865 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
17866 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
17867 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
17868 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
17869 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
17870 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
17872 @item killed groups
17873 @cindex killed groups
17874 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
17875 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
17877 @item zombie groups
17878 @cindex zombie groups
17879 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
17882 @cindex active file
17883 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
17884 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
17885 is rather large, as you might surmise.
17888 @cindex bogus groups
17889 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
17890 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
17891 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
17894 @cindex activating groups
17895 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
17896 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
17897 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
17901 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
17903 @item select method
17904 @cindex select method
17905 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
17908 @item virtual server
17909 @cindex virtual server
17910 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
17911 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
17912 whole is a virtual server.
17916 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
17917 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
17920 @item ephemeral groups
17921 @cindex ephemeral groups
17922 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
17923 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
17924 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
17927 @cindex solid groups
17928 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
17929 group buffer are solid groups.
17931 @item sparse articles
17932 @cindex sparse articles
17933 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
17934 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
17938 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
17939 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
17943 @cindex thread root
17944 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
17945 articles in the thread.
17949 An article that has responses.
17953 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
17957 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
17958 specified by RFC1153.
17964 @node Customization
17965 @section Customization
17966 @cindex general customization
17968 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
17969 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
17970 for some quite common situations.
17973 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
17974 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
17975 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
17976 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
17980 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
17981 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
17983 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
17984 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
17985 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
17989 @item gnus-read-active-file
17990 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
17991 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
17992 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17993 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
17994 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
17996 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
17997 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
17998 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
17999 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18003 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18004 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18006 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18007 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18008 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18012 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18013 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18014 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18015 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18016 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18018 @item gnus-visible-headers
18019 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18020 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18021 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18022 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18024 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18025 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18027 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18028 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
18029 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18032 @item gnus-use-full-window
18033 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18034 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18035 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18036 want to read them anyway.
18038 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18039 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18042 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18043 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18044 lines, which might save some time.
18048 @node Little Disk Space
18049 @subsection Little Disk Space
18052 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18053 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18057 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18058 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18059 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18060 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18063 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18064 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18065 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18066 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18067 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18073 @subsection Slow Machine
18074 @cindex slow machine
18076 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18077 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18079 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18080 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18082 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18083 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18084 summary buffer faster.
18086 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18087 processing a bit faster.
18091 @node Troubleshooting
18092 @section Troubleshooting
18093 @cindex troubleshooting
18095 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18103 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18106 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18107 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18111 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18112 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18113 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18114 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18117 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18121 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18122 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18123 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18124 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18125 something like that.
18128 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18131 @cindex reporting bugs
18133 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18135 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18136 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18137 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18138 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18140 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18141 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18142 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18143 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18146 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18147 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18148 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18149 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18150 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18151 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18153 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18154 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18155 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18158 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18159 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18161 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18162 @cindex ding mailing list
18163 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18164 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18168 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18169 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18171 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18172 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18173 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18174 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18177 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18178 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18179 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18180 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18181 and general methods of operation.
18184 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18185 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18186 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18187 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18188 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18189 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18190 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18191 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18192 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18196 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18197 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18198 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18199 @cindex utility functions
18201 @cindex internal variables
18203 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18204 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18205 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18209 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18210 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18211 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18213 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18214 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18215 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18217 @item gnus-group-real-name
18218 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18219 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18222 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18223 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18224 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18225 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18227 @item gnus-get-info
18228 @findex gnus-get-info
18229 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18231 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18232 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18233 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18236 @item gnus-continuum-version
18237 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18238 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18239 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18242 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18243 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18244 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18246 @item gnus-news-group-p
18247 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18248 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18250 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18251 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18252 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18254 @item gnus-server-to-method
18255 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18256 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18258 @item gnus-server-equal
18259 @findex gnus-server-equal
18260 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18262 @item gnus-group-native-p
18263 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18264 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18266 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18267 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18268 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18270 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18271 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18272 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18274 @item group-group-find-parameter
18275 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18276 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18277 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18279 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18280 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18281 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18283 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18284 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18285 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18287 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18288 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18289 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18290 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18293 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18297 @item gnus-read-method
18298 @findex gnus-read-method
18299 Prompts the user for a select method.
18304 @node Backend Interface
18305 @subsection Backend Interface
18307 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18308 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18309 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18310 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18311 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18312 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18314 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18315 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18316 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18317 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18318 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18319 been opened, the function should fail.
18321 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18322 name. Take this example:
18326 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18327 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18330 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18331 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18333 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18334 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18335 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18337 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18338 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18339 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18341 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18342 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18343 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18344 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18345 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18346 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18349 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18350 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18351 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18352 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18355 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18358 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18361 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18362 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18363 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18364 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18365 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18366 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18370 @node Required Backend Functions
18371 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18375 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18377 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18378 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18379 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18380 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18382 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18383 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18384 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18385 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18387 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18388 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18389 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18390 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
18391 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
18392 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
18393 number, do maximum fetches.
18395 Here's an example HEAD:
18398 221 1056 Article retrieved.
18399 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
18400 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
18401 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
18402 Subject: Re: Something very droll
18403 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
18404 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
18406 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
18407 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
18408 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
18412 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
18413 these in the data buffer.
18415 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
18419 head = error / valid-head
18420 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
18421 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
18422 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
18423 header = <text> eol
18426 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
18427 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
18431 nov-buffer = *nov-line
18432 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
18433 field = <text except TAB>
18436 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
18440 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
18442 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
18443 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
18445 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
18446 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
18447 server. In fact, it should do so.
18449 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
18450 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
18453 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
18455 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
18456 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
18459 There should be no data returned.
18462 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
18464 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
18465 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
18466 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
18467 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
18469 There should be no data returned.
18472 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
18474 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
18475 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
18476 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
18477 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
18479 There should be no data returned.
18482 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
18484 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
18486 There should be no data returned.
18489 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
18491 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
18492 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
18493 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
18494 it would be nice if that were possible.
18496 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
18497 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
18498 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
18499 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
18500 into its article buffer.
18502 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
18503 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
18504 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
18505 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
18506 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
18507 on successful article retrieval.
18510 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
18512 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
18513 making @var{group} the current group.
18515 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
18518 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
18521 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
18524 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
18525 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
18526 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
18527 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
18528 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
18529 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
18530 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
18531 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
18534 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
18535 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
18536 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
18540 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18542 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
18543 a no-op on most backends.
18545 There should be no data returned.
18548 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
18550 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
18553 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
18556 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
18557 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
18560 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
18561 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
18564 active-file = *active-line
18565 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
18567 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
18570 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
18571 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
18572 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
18575 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
18577 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
18578 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
18579 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
18580 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
18581 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
18582 clear if the posting could not be completed.
18584 There should be no result data from this function.
18589 @node Optional Backend Functions
18590 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
18594 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
18596 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
18597 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
18598 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
18600 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
18601 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
18602 former is in the same format as the data from
18603 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
18604 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
18607 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
18611 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
18613 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
18614 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
18615 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
18616 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
18617 should return the (altered) group info.
18619 There should be no result data from this function.
18622 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
18624 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
18625 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
18626 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
18627 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
18628 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
18629 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
18630 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
18631 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
18633 There should be no result data from this function.
18636 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
18638 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
18639 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
18640 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
18641 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
18642 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
18644 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
18645 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
18646 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
18649 There should be no result data from this function.
18652 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
18654 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
18655 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
18656 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
18657 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
18658 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
18659 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
18660 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
18662 There should be no result data from this function.
18665 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
18667 The result data from this function should be a description of
18671 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
18673 description = <text>
18676 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
18678 The result data from this function should be the description of all
18679 groups available on the server.
18682 description-buffer = *description-line
18686 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
18688 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
18689 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
18690 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
18693 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18695 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
18697 There should be no return data.
18700 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
18702 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
18703 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
18704 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
18705 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
18706 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
18709 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
18712 There should be no result data returned.
18715 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
18718 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
18719 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
18721 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
18722 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
18723 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
18724 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
18725 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
18726 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
18728 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
18729 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
18732 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18733 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18735 There should be no data returned.
18738 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
18740 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
18741 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
18742 this function in short order.
18744 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18745 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18747 There should be no data returned.
18750 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
18752 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
18753 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
18755 There should be no data returned.
18758 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
18760 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
18761 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
18762 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
18764 There should be no data returned.
18767 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
18769 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
18770 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
18772 There should be no data returned.
18777 @node Error Messaging
18778 @subsubsection Error Messaging
18780 @findex nnheader-report
18781 @findex nnheader-get-report
18782 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
18783 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
18784 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
18785 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
18786 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
18787 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
18790 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
18792 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
18795 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
18796 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
18797 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
18798 takes one argument---the server symbol.
18800 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
18801 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
18802 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
18805 @node Writing New Backends
18806 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
18808 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
18809 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
18810 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
18811 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
18812 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
18815 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
18816 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
18817 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
18819 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
18820 package called @code{nnoo}.
18822 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
18823 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
18829 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
18830 parameters. For instance:
18833 (nnoo-declare nndir
18837 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
18838 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
18841 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
18842 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
18843 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
18845 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
18846 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
18847 a function in those backends.
18850 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18851 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18852 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18855 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
18856 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
18857 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
18859 @item nnoo-define-basics
18860 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
18864 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18868 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
18869 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
18870 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
18872 @item nnoo-map-functions
18873 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
18874 functions from the parent backends.
18877 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18878 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18879 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
18882 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
18883 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
18884 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
18885 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
18888 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
18889 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
18890 haven't already been defined.
18896 nnmh-request-newgroups)
18900 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
18901 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
18902 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
18907 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
18910 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
18911 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
18915 (require 'nnheader)
18919 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
18921 (nnoo-declare nndir
18924 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18925 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18926 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18928 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
18929 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
18932 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
18933 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
18934 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
18936 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
18937 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
18939 ;;; Interface functions.
18941 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18943 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
18944 (setq nndir-directory
18945 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
18947 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
18948 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
18949 (push `(nndir-current-group
18950 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18952 (push `(nndir-top-directory
18953 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18955 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
18957 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18958 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18959 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18960 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
18961 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
18965 nnmh-status-message
18967 nnmh-request-newgroups))
18973 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18974 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18976 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
18977 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
18978 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
18979 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
18981 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
18982 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
18987 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
18990 The abilities can be:
18994 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
18996 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
18998 This backend supports both mail and news.
19000 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19003 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19004 articles and groups.
19006 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19007 true for almost all backends.
19008 @item prompt-address
19009 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19010 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19011 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19015 @node Mail-like Backends
19016 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19018 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19019 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19020 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19021 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19024 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19025 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19026 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19029 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19030 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19033 This function takes four parameters.
19037 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19040 @item exit-function
19041 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19043 @item temp-directory
19044 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19047 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19048 performed for one group only.
19051 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19052 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19053 find the article number assigned to this article.
19055 The function also uses the following variables:
19056 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19057 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19058 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19059 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19063 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19064 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19068 @node Score File Syntax
19069 @subsection Score File Syntax
19071 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19072 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19073 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19075 Here's a typical score file:
19079 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19086 BNF definition of a score file:
19089 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19090 element = rule / atom
19091 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19092 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19093 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19094 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19096 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19097 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19098 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19099 date-header = "date"
19100 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19101 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19102 score = "nil" / <integer>
19103 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19104 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19105 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19106 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19107 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19108 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19109 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19110 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19111 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19112 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19113 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19114 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19115 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19116 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19117 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19118 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19119 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19120 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19121 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19122 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19123 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19124 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19125 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19126 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19127 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19128 eval = "eval" space <form>
19129 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19132 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19135 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19136 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19137 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19138 one looong line, then that's ok.
19140 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19141 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19145 @subsection Headers
19147 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19148 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19149 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19150 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19152 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19153 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19154 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19155 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19156 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19157 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19158 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19160 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19161 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19162 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
19163 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19164 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19166 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
19173 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19174 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19176 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19177 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19178 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19179 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19181 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19185 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19188 is transformed into
19191 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19194 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19195 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19198 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19201 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19202 is slightly tricky:
19205 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19211 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19214 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19220 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19227 and is equal to the previous range.
19229 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19230 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19231 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19235 range = simple-range / normal-range
19236 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19237 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19238 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19239 number *[ " " contents ]
19242 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19243 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19244 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19245 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19246 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19251 @subsection Group Info
19253 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19254 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19255 describes the group.
19257 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19258 second is a more complex one:
19261 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
19263 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19264 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19266 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19269 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19270 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19271 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19272 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19273 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19274 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19275 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19276 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19277 this section is about.
19279 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19280 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19281 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19283 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19286 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19287 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19288 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19289 group = quote <string> quote
19290 ralevel = rank / level
19291 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19292 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19293 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19295 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19296 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19297 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19298 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19301 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19302 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19305 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19306 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19309 @item gnus-info-group
19310 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19311 @findex gnus-info-group
19312 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19313 Get/set the group name.
19315 @item gnus-info-rank
19316 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19317 @findex gnus-info-rank
19318 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19319 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19321 @item gnus-info-level
19322 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19323 @findex gnus-info-level
19324 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19325 Get/set the group level.
19327 @item gnus-info-score
19328 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19329 @findex gnus-info-score
19330 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19331 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19333 @item gnus-info-read
19334 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19335 @findex gnus-info-read
19336 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19337 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19339 @item gnus-info-marks
19340 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19341 @findex gnus-info-marks
19342 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19343 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19345 @item gnus-info-method
19346 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19347 @findex gnus-info-method
19348 @findex gnus-info-set-method
19349 Get/set the group select method.
19351 @item gnus-info-params
19352 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
19353 @findex gnus-info-params
19354 @findex gnus-info-set-params
19355 Get/set the group parameters.
19358 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
19359 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
19361 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
19362 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
19363 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
19364 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
19367 @node Extended Interactive
19368 @subsection Extended Interactive
19369 @cindex interactive
19370 @findex gnus-interactive
19372 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
19373 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
19374 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
19377 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
19378 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
19383 The best thing to do would have been to implement
19384 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
19385 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
19386 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
19387 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
19388 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
19389 @code{interactive}.
19391 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
19396 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
19397 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
19401 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
19402 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
19403 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
19406 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
19410 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
19414 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
19420 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
19421 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
19425 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
19426 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
19427 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
19429 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
19430 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
19431 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
19432 Gnus, that's very useful.
19434 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
19435 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
19436 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
19437 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
19438 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
19439 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
19440 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
19441 following function:
19444 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
19448 (,function ,@@args))
19452 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
19453 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
19454 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
19457 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
19458 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
19459 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
19461 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
19462 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
19463 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
19466 @node Various File Formats
19467 @subsection Various File Formats
19470 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
19471 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
19475 @node Active File Format
19476 @subsubsection Active File Format
19478 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
19479 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
19482 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
19485 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
19486 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
19487 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
19488 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
19489 no.general 1000 900 y
19492 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
19495 active = *group-line
19496 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
19497 group = <non-white-space string>
19499 high-number = <non-negative integer>
19500 low-number = <positive integer>
19501 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
19504 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
19505 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
19508 @node Newsgroups File Format
19509 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
19511 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
19512 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
19513 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
19516 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
19517 Here's the definition:
19521 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
19522 group = <non-white-space string>
19524 description = <string>
19529 @node Emacs for Heathens
19530 @section Emacs for Heathens
19532 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
19533 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
19534 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
19535 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
19536 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
19537 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
19538 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
19542 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
19543 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
19548 @subsection Keystrokes
19552 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
19555 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
19558 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
19559 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
19560 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
19561 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
19562 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
19563 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
19565 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
19566 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
19567 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
19568 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
19569 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
19570 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
19571 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
19573 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
19574 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
19575 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
19576 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
19577 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
19578 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
19579 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
19581 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
19582 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
19583 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
19584 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
19585 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
19591 @subsection Emacs Lisp
19593 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
19594 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
19595 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
19596 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
19598 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
19599 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
19600 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
19601 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
19602 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
19603 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
19604 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
19607 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
19608 write the following:
19611 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
19614 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
19615 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
19616 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
19619 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
19620 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
19621 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
19622 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
19623 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
19625 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
19626 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
19627 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
19631 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
19635 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
19638 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
19639 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
19642 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
19645 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
19646 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
19649 @include gnus-faq.texi