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4 @settitle Semi-gnus 6.10.041 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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264 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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273 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
275 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
276 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
277 are preserved on all copies.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
280 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
281 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
282 permission notice identical to this one.
284 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
285 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
294 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
296 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
303 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
304 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
305 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
306 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
310 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
311 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
312 permission notice identical to this one.
314 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
315 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
321 @title Semi-gnus 6.10.041 Manual
323 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
326 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
327 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
329 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
330 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
331 are preserved on all copies.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
334 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
335 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
336 permission notice identical to this one.
338 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
339 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
348 @top The gnus Newsreader
352 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
353 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
354 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
357 Semi-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So Semi-gnus
358 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
359 other various kinds of formats. Semi-gnus also supports
360 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
361 API. So Semi-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
362 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
364 This manual corresponds to Semi-gnus 6.10.041.
375 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
376 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
378 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
379 being accused of plagiarism:
381 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
382 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
383 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
384 even read news with it!
386 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
387 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
388 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
389 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
390 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
397 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
398 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
399 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
400 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
401 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
402 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
403 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
404 * Various:: General purpose settings.
405 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
406 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
407 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
408 * Key Index:: Key Index.
412 @chapter Starting gnus
417 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
418 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
421 @findex gnus-other-frame
422 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
423 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
424 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
426 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
427 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
428 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
430 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
431 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
436 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
437 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
438 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
439 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
440 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
441 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
442 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
443 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
444 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
448 @node Finding the News
449 @section Finding the News
452 @vindex gnus-select-method
454 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
455 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
456 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
457 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are foreign
460 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
461 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
464 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
467 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
470 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
473 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
474 certainly be much faster.
476 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
478 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
479 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
480 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
481 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
482 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
483 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an
484 @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
486 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
487 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
488 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
489 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
491 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
492 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
493 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
494 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
495 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
496 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
497 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
498 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
499 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
502 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
504 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
505 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
506 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
507 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
508 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
509 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
511 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
513 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
514 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
515 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
516 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
517 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
518 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
521 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
522 would typically set this variable to
525 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
530 @section The First Time
531 @cindex first time usage
533 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
534 be subscribed by default.
536 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
537 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
538 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
539 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
542 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
543 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
544 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
546 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
547 help you with most common problems.
549 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
550 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
554 @node The Server is Down
555 @section The Server is Down
556 @cindex server errors
558 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
559 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
560 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
562 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
563 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
564 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
565 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
566 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
567 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
568 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
570 @findex gnus-no-server
571 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
573 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
574 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
575 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
576 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
577 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
578 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
583 @section Slave Gnusae
586 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
587 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if
588 you are using the two different gnusae to read from two different
589 servers), that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
591 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
594 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
595 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and @dfn{slaves}.
596 (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have taken out a
597 copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in conjunction
598 with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to me. Usage of
599 the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer Applications})
600 will be much more expensive, of course.)
602 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
603 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
604 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
605 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
606 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
607 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
608 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
609 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
611 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
612 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
615 @node Fetching a Group
616 @section Fetching a Group
617 @cindex fetching a group
619 @findex gnus-fetch-group
620 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
621 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
622 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
623 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
624 It takes the group name as a parameter.
632 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
633 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
634 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
635 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
636 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
637 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
638 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
639 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
640 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
643 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
644 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
645 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
649 @node Checking New Groups
650 @subsection Checking New Groups
652 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
653 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
654 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
655 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
656 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
657 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
658 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
659 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
660 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
661 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
663 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
664 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
665 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
666 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
667 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't work.
668 I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server supports
669 @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't. You could
670 @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see whether it lists
671 @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If it does, then it
672 might work. (But there are servers that lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} without
673 supporting the function properly.)
675 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
676 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
677 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
678 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
679 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
680 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
683 @node Subscription Methods
684 @subsection Subscription Methods
686 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
687 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
688 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
690 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
691 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
693 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
697 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
698 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
699 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
700 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
701 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
703 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
704 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
705 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
706 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
708 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
709 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
710 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
712 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
713 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
714 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
715 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
716 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
717 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
718 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
719 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
720 up. Or something like that.
722 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
723 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
724 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask you
725 about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe to
726 will be subscribed hierarchically.
728 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
729 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
734 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
735 A closely related variable is
736 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
737 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
738 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
739 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
742 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
743 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
744 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
745 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
748 @node Filtering New Groups
749 @subsection Filtering New Groups
751 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
752 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
753 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
756 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
759 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
760 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
761 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
762 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
763 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
764 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
765 subscribing these groups.
766 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
767 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
769 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
770 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
771 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
772 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
773 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
774 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
775 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
776 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
778 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
779 Yet another variable that meddles here is
780 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
781 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
782 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
783 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
784 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
785 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
786 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
787 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
789 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
790 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
793 @node Changing Servers
794 @section Changing Servers
795 @cindex changing servers
797 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
798 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
799 very flaky and you want to use another.
801 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
802 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
806 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
807 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
808 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
809 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
812 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
813 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
814 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
815 functions more than absolutely necessary.
817 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
818 @findex gnus-change-server
819 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
820 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
821 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
822 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
823 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
825 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
826 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
827 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
828 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
829 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
831 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
832 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
833 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
834 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
835 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
836 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
838 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
839 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
840 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
844 @section Startup Files
845 @cindex startup files
850 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
851 information is traditionally stored in this file.
853 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{GNUS}. In addition to
854 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
855 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
856 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
857 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{GNUS} would read whichever one of these
858 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
859 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
861 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
862 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
863 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
864 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
865 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
866 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
868 In addition, gnus does not change anything. Hail comrade Lars!
870 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
871 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
872 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
873 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
874 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
875 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
877 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
878 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
879 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
880 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
881 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
882 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
883 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
884 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
885 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
886 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
887 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
888 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
890 @vindex gnus-startup-file
891 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
892 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
893 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
895 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
896 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
897 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
898 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
899 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
900 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
901 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
902 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
903 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
904 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
907 (defun turn-off-backup ()
908 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
910 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
911 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
914 @vindex gnus-init-file
915 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
916 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
917 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
918 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
919 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
920 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
921 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
922 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
923 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
932 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
933 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
934 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
935 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
936 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
939 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
940 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file
943 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
944 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
945 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
947 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
948 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
949 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
950 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
951 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
952 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
954 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
955 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
956 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
959 @node The Active File
960 @section The Active File
962 @cindex ignored groups
964 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
965 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
966 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
968 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
969 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
970 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
971 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
972 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
973 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
974 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
977 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
978 @c if you set it to anything else.
980 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
982 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
983 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
984 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
986 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
987 you actually subscribe to.
989 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
990 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
991 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
992 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
994 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
995 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
996 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
997 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
998 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
999 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1001 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1002 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1003 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1004 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1005 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1006 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1008 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1009 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1011 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1012 secondary select methods.
1015 @node Startup Variables
1016 @section Startup Variables
1020 @item gnus-load-hook
1021 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1022 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1023 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1024 times you start gnus.
1026 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1027 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1028 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1030 @item gnus-startup-hook
1031 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1032 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1034 @item gnus-started-hook
1035 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1036 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1039 @item gnus-started-hook
1040 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1041 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1042 generating the group buffer.
1044 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1045 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1046 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1047 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1048 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1049 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1050 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1051 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1053 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1054 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1055 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1056 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1057 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1058 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1060 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1061 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1062 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1064 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1065 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1066 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1068 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1069 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1070 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1071 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1076 @node The Group Buffer
1077 @chapter The Group Buffer
1078 @cindex group buffer
1080 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1081 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1082 long as gnus is active.
1086 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1087 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1088 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1089 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1090 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1091 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1092 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1093 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1099 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1100 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1101 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1102 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1103 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1104 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1105 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1106 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1107 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1108 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1109 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1110 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1111 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1112 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1113 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1114 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1115 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1119 @node Group Buffer Format
1120 @section Group Buffer Format
1123 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1124 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1125 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1129 @node Group Line Specification
1130 @subsection Group Line Specification
1131 @cindex group buffer format
1133 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1134 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1136 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1139 25: news.announce.newusers
1140 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1145 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1146 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1147 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1148 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1150 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1151 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1152 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1153 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1154 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1155 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1157 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1159 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1160 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1161 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1162 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1165 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1166 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1167 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1169 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1174 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1177 Whether the group is subscribed.
1180 Level of subscribedness.
1183 Number of unread articles.
1186 Number of dormant articles.
1189 Number of ticked articles.
1192 Number of read articles.
1195 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1196 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1199 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1202 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1211 Newsgroup description.
1214 @samp{m} if moderated.
1217 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1226 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1230 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1233 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1234 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1235 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1236 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1237 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1240 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1242 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1246 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1250 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1251 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1252 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1253 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1254 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1255 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1260 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1261 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1262 group, or a bogus native group.
1265 @node Group Modeline Specification
1266 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1267 @cindex group modeline
1269 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1270 The mode line can be changed by setting
1271 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1272 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1276 The native news server.
1278 The native select method.
1282 @node Group Highlighting
1283 @subsection Group Highlighting
1284 @cindex highlighting
1285 @cindex group highlighting
1287 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1288 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1289 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1290 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1291 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1293 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1297 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1
1298 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1299 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2
1300 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1301 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3
1302 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1303 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4
1304 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1305 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5
1306 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1308 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1309 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1310 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1311 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1312 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1313 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1316 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1318 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1325 The number of unread articles in the group.
1329 Whether the group is a mail group.
1331 The level of the group.
1333 The score of the group.
1335 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1337 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1338 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1340 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1341 topic being inserted.
1344 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1345 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1346 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1348 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1349 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1350 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1351 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1352 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1355 @node Group Maneuvering
1356 @section Group Maneuvering
1357 @cindex group movement
1359 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1360 expected, hopefully.
1366 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1367 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1368 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1374 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1375 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1376 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1380 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1381 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1385 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1386 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1390 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1391 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1392 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1396 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1397 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1398 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1401 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1407 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1408 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1409 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1414 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1415 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1416 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1420 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1421 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1422 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1425 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1426 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1427 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1428 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1432 @node Selecting a Group
1433 @section Selecting a Group
1434 @cindex group selection
1439 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1440 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1441 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1442 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1443 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1444 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1445 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1446 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1447 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1448 negative, gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1452 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1453 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1454 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1455 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1456 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1460 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1461 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1462 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1463 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1464 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1465 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1466 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1467 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1468 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1469 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1472 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1473 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1474 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1475 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1476 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1479 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1480 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1481 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1482 doing any processing of its contents
1483 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1484 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1485 manner will have no permanent effects.
1489 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1490 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1491 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1492 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1493 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1494 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1495 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1496 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1499 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1500 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1501 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1502 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1507 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1508 full summary buffer.
1511 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1514 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1519 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1520 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1521 Useful functions include:
1524 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
1525 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
1526 don't select the article.
1528 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
1529 Select the first unread article.
1531 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
1532 Select the highest-scored unread article.
1536 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1537 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1538 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1542 @node Subscription Commands
1543 @section Subscription Commands
1544 @cindex subscription
1552 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1553 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1554 Toggle subscription to the current group
1555 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1561 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1562 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1563 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1564 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1570 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1571 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1572 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1578 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1579 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1582 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1583 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1584 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1585 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1586 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1592 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1593 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1597 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1598 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1601 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1602 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1603 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1604 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1605 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1606 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1607 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1608 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1609 @file{.newsrc} file.
1613 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1623 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1624 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1625 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1626 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1627 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1628 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group
1629 from the group buffer.
1633 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1634 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1635 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1639 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1640 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1641 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1643 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1644 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1645 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1646 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1647 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1648 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1655 @section Group Levels
1659 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1660 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1661 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1662 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1663 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1665 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1671 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1672 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1673 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1674 prompted for a level.
1677 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1678 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1679 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1680 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1681 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1682 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1683 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1684 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1685 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1686 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1687 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1688 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1689 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1690 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1691 reasons of efficiency.
1693 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1694 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1696 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1697 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1698 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1700 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1701 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1702 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1703 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1704 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1705 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1706 relevant valid ranges.
1708 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1709 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1710 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1711 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1712 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1713 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1716 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1717 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1718 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1721 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1722 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1723 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1724 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1727 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1728 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1729 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1730 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1732 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1733 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1734 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1735 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1736 to 5. The default is 6.
1740 @section Group Score
1745 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1746 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1747 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1750 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1751 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1752 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1753 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1754 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1755 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1756 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1758 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1759 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1760 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1761 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1762 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1763 action after each summary exit, you can add
1764 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1765 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1766 slow things down somewhat.
1769 @node Marking Groups
1770 @section Marking Groups
1771 @cindex marking groups
1773 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1774 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1775 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1776 bidding on those groups.
1778 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1779 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1780 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1788 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1789 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1795 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1796 Remove the mark from the current group
1797 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1801 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1802 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1806 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1807 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1811 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1812 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1816 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1817 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1818 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1821 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1823 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1824 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1825 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1826 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1827 the command to be executed.
1830 @node Foreign Groups
1831 @section Foreign Groups
1832 @cindex foreign groups
1834 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1835 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1836 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1837 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1844 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1845 @cindex making groups
1846 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1847 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1848 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1852 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1853 @cindex renaming groups
1854 Rename the current group to something else
1855 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1856 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1862 @findex gnus-group-customize
1863 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1867 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1868 @cindex renaming groups
1869 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1870 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1874 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1875 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1876 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1880 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1881 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1882 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1886 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1888 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1889 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1894 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1895 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1899 @cindex (ding) archive
1900 @cindex archive group
1901 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1902 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1903 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1904 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1905 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1906 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1907 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1911 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1913 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1914 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1915 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1916 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1920 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1922 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1923 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1924 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1928 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1929 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1931 Make a group based on some file or other
1932 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1933 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1934 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1935 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1936 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1937 this command without a prefix, gnus will guess at the file type.
1938 @xref{Document Groups}.
1942 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
1943 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
1944 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
1945 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
1949 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1954 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1955 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1956 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1957 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1958 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1959 @xref{Web Searches}.
1961 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1962 to a particular group by using a match string like
1963 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1966 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1967 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1968 This function will delete the current group
1969 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1970 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1971 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1972 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1973 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1977 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1978 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1979 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1983 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1984 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1985 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1988 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1991 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1992 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1993 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1994 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1995 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1996 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2000 @node Group Parameters
2001 @section Group Parameters
2002 @cindex group parameters
2004 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2005 Here's an example group parameter list:
2008 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2012 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing
2013 before the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value.
2014 All the parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs,
2015 which are not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2017 The following group parameters can be used:
2022 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2025 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2028 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2029 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2030 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2031 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2032 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2034 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2035 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2036 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2037 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2038 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2039 list address instead.
2043 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2046 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2049 It is totally ignored
2050 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2051 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2053 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2054 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2055 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2056 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2057 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2059 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2060 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2061 sending the message.
2065 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2066 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2067 of whether it has any unread articles.
2069 @item broken-reply-to
2070 @cindex broken-reply-to
2071 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2072 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2073 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2074 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2075 broken behavior. So there!
2079 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2080 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2084 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2085 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2086 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2091 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2092 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2093 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2094 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2095 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2096 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2097 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2101 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2102 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2103 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2106 @cindex total-expire
2107 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2108 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2109 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2110 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2115 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2116 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2117 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2118 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2119 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2120 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2123 @cindex score file group parameter
2124 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2125 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2126 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2129 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2130 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2131 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2132 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2135 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2136 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2137 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2138 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2141 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2142 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2146 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2149 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2154 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2155 arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by gnus,
2156 but provide a place for you to store information on particular groups.
2159 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2160 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2161 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2163 @item @var{(variable form)}
2164 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2165 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2166 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2167 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2168 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2169 @code{eval}ed there.
2171 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2172 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2173 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2174 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2175 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2179 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2180 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2184 @node Listing Groups
2185 @section Listing Groups
2186 @cindex group listing
2188 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2196 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2197 List all groups that have unread articles
2198 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2199 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2200 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2201 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2208 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2209 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2210 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2211 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2212 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2213 unsubscribed groups).
2217 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2218 List all unread groups on a specific level
2219 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2220 with no unread articles.
2224 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2225 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2226 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2227 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2232 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2233 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2237 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2238 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2239 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2243 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2244 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2248 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2249 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2250 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2251 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2252 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2253 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2254 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2255 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2259 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2260 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2261 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2265 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2266 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2267 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2271 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2272 @cindex visible group parameter
2273 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2274 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2275 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2276 get the same effect.
2278 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2279 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2280 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2281 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2282 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2285 @node Sorting Groups
2286 @section Sorting Groups
2287 @cindex sorting groups
2289 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2290 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2291 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2292 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2293 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2294 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2299 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2300 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2301 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2303 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2304 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2305 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2307 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2308 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2309 Sort by group level.
2311 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2312 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2313 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2315 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2316 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2317 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2318 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2320 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2321 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2322 Sort by number of unread articles.
2324 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2325 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2326 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2331 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2332 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2336 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2337 some sorting criteria:
2341 @kindex G S a (Group)
2342 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2343 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2344 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2347 @kindex G S u (Group)
2348 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2349 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2350 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2353 @kindex G S l (Group)
2354 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2355 Sort the group buffer by group level
2356 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2359 @kindex G S v (Group)
2360 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2361 Sort the group buffer by group score
2362 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2365 @kindex G S r (Group)
2366 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2367 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2368 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2371 @kindex G S m (Group)
2372 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2373 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2374 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2378 All the commands below obeys the process/prefix convention
2379 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2381 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2382 commands will sort in reverse order.
2384 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2388 @kindex G P a (Group)
2389 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2390 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2391 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2394 @kindex G P u (Group)
2395 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2396 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2397 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2400 @kindex G P l (Group)
2401 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2402 Sort the groups by group level
2403 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2406 @kindex G P v (Group)
2407 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2408 Sort the groups by group score
2409 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2412 @kindex G P r (Group)
2413 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2414 Sort the groups by group rank
2415 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2418 @kindex G P m (Group)
2419 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2420 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2421 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2427 @node Group Maintenance
2428 @section Group Maintenance
2429 @cindex bogus groups
2434 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2435 Find bogus groups and delete them
2436 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2440 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2441 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2442 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2443 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2444 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2448 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2449 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2450 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2451 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2454 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2455 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2456 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2457 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2462 @node Browse Foreign Server
2463 @section Browse Foreign Server
2464 @cindex foreign servers
2465 @cindex browsing servers
2470 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2471 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2472 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2473 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2476 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2477 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2478 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2479 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2481 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2486 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2487 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2491 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2492 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2495 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2496 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2497 Enter the current group and display the first article
2498 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2501 @kindex RET (Browse)
2502 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2503 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2507 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2508 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2509 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2515 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2516 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2520 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2521 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2522 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2527 @section Exiting gnus
2528 @cindex exiting gnus
2530 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
2535 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2536 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit
2537 gnus, but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure
2538 why this is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2542 @findex gnus-group-exit
2543 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2544 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2548 @findex gnus-group-quit
2549 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files
2550 (@code{gnus-group-quit}). The dribble file will be saved, though
2551 (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2554 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2555 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2556 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
2557 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
2558 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2563 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2564 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2565 trying to customize meta-variables.
2570 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2571 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2572 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2578 @section Group Topics
2581 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2582 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2583 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2584 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2585 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2586 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2590 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2591 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2602 2: alt.religion.emacs
2605 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2607 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2608 13: comp.sources.unix
2611 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2613 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2614 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2615 is a toggling command.)
2617 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2618 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2619 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2620 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2623 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2624 the hook for the group mode:
2627 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2631 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2632 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2633 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2634 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2635 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2639 @node Topic Variables
2640 @subsection Topic Variables
2641 @cindex topic variables
2643 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2644 really neat, I think.
2646 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2647 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2648 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2661 Number of groups in the topic.
2663 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2665 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2668 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2669 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2670 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2673 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2674 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2676 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2677 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2678 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2681 @node Topic Commands
2682 @subsection Topic Commands
2683 @cindex topic commands
2685 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2686 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2687 definitions slightly.
2693 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2694 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2695 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2699 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2700 Move the current group to some other topic
2701 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2702 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2706 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2707 Copy the current group to some other topic
2708 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2709 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2713 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2714 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2715 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2716 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2717 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2718 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2719 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2722 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2723 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2727 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2728 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2729 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2733 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2734 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2735 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2739 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2740 Toggle hiding empty topics
2741 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2745 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2746 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2747 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2750 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2751 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2752 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2753 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2757 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2759 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2760 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2761 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2762 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2765 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2766 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2767 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2768 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2772 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2774 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2775 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2776 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2777 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2778 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2779 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2782 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
2783 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
2784 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
2785 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
2789 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2790 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2791 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2795 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2796 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2797 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2802 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2803 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2806 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2807 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2808 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2812 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2813 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2814 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2818 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2819 @cindex group parameters
2820 @cindex topic parameters
2822 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2823 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2829 @subsection Topic Sorting
2830 @cindex topic sorting
2832 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2838 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2839 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2840 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2841 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2844 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2845 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2846 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2847 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2850 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2851 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2852 Sort the current topic by group level
2853 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2856 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2857 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2858 Sort the current topic by group score
2859 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2862 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2863 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2864 Sort the current topic by group rank
2865 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2868 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2869 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2870 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2871 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2875 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2878 @node Topic Topology
2879 @subsection Topic Topology
2880 @cindex topic topology
2883 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2889 2: alt.religion.emacs
2892 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2894 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2895 13: comp.sources.unix
2898 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2899 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2900 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2905 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2906 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2910 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2911 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2912 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2913 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2914 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2915 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2917 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2918 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2919 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2922 @node Topic Parameters
2923 @subsection Topic Parameters
2924 @cindex topic parameters
2926 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2927 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2928 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2930 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2931 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2932 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2933 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2939 2: alt.religion.emacs
2943 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2945 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2946 13: comp.sources.unix
2950 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2951 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2952 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2953 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2954 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2955 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2957 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2958 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2959 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2960 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2961 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2963 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2964 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2965 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2966 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2967 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2968 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2969 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2970 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2973 @node Misc Group Stuff
2974 @section Misc Group Stuff
2977 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2978 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
2979 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2980 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
2987 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2988 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2989 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2993 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2994 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2995 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2999 @findex gnus-group-mail
3000 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3004 Variables for the group buffer:
3008 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3009 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3010 is called after the group buffer has been
3013 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3014 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3015 is called after the group buffer is
3016 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3019 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3020 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3021 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3022 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3024 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3025 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3026 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3027 whether they are empty or not.
3032 @node Scanning New Messages
3033 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3034 @cindex new messages
3035 @cindex scanning new news
3041 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3042 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3043 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3044 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3045 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3046 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3051 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3052 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3053 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3054 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3055 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3056 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3057 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3059 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3060 @cindex activating groups
3062 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3063 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3068 @findex gnus-group-restart
3069 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3070 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3071 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3075 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3076 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3078 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3079 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3083 @node Group Information
3084 @subsection Group Information
3085 @cindex group information
3086 @cindex information on groups
3093 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3094 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3097 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3098 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3099 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3100 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3101 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3102 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3103 for fetching the file.
3105 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3106 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3110 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3112 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3113 @cindex describing groups
3114 @cindex group description
3115 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3116 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3117 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3121 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3122 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3123 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3130 @findex gnus-version
3131 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3135 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3136 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3139 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3142 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3143 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3147 @node Group Timestamp
3148 @subsection Group Timestamp
3150 @cindex group timestamps
3152 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3153 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3154 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3157 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3160 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3162 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3163 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3166 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3167 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3170 This will result in lines looking like:
3173 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3174 0: custom 19961002T012713
3177 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3178 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3182 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3183 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3188 @subsection File Commands
3189 @cindex file commands
3195 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3196 @vindex gnus-init-file
3197 @cindex reading init file
3198 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3199 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3203 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3204 @cindex saving .newsrc
3205 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3206 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3207 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3210 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3211 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3212 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3217 @node The Summary Buffer
3218 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3219 @cindex summary buffer
3221 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3222 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3224 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3225 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3227 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3230 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3231 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3232 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3233 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3234 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3235 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3236 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3237 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3238 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3239 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3240 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3241 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3242 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3243 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3244 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3245 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3246 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3247 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3248 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3249 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3250 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3251 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3252 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3253 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3254 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3255 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3256 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3257 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3261 @node Summary Buffer Format
3262 @section Summary Buffer Format
3263 @cindex summary buffer format
3267 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3268 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3269 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3275 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3276 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3277 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3278 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3281 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3282 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3283 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3284 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3285 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3286 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3287 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3288 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3289 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3290 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3291 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3292 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3293 other function instead:
3296 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3297 'mail-extract-address-components)
3300 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3301 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3302 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3303 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3306 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3307 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3309 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3310 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3311 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3312 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3313 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3315 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3317 The following format specification characters are understood:
3325 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3326 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3327 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3329 Full @code{From} header.
3331 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3333 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3334 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3336 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3337 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3338 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3339 may be more thorough.
3341 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3344 Number of lines in the article.
3346 Number of characters in the article.
3348 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3350 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3351 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3353 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3354 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3356 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3357 for adopted articles.
3359 One space for each thread level.
3361 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3366 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3367 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3371 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3373 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3374 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3375 default level. If the difference between
3376 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3377 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3385 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3387 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3393 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3394 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3396 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3397 article has any children.
3403 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3404 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3405 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3406 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3407 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3408 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3411 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3412 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
3413 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3414 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3415 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3416 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3418 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3419 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3421 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
3424 @node To From Newsgroups
3425 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3429 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3430 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3431 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3432 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3433 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3437 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3438 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3439 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3443 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3444 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3447 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3448 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
3451 @findex gnus-extra-header
3452 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
3453 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
3454 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
3457 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
3461 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3462 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
3463 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
3464 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
3465 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
3466 headers are used instead.
3470 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
3471 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
3472 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files.
3474 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
3477 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3479 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
3480 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
3481 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
3482 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3486 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
3487 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
3494 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
3495 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
3498 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3499 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3501 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3502 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3503 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3504 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3506 Here are the elements you can play with:
3512 Unprefixed group name.
3514 Current article number.
3516 Current article score.
3520 Number of unread articles in this group.
3522 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3525 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3526 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3527 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3528 and no unselected ones.
3530 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3531 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3533 Subject of the current article.
3535 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3537 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3539 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3541 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3543 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3545 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3549 @node Summary Highlighting
3550 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3554 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3555 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3556 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3557 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3558 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3560 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3561 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3562 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3563 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3565 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3566 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3567 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3568 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3570 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3571 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3572 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3573 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3574 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3575 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3577 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3578 ((> score default) . bold))
3580 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3581 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3585 @node Summary Maneuvering
3586 @section Summary Maneuvering
3587 @cindex summary movement
3589 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3590 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3592 None of these commands select articles.
3597 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3598 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3599 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3600 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3601 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3605 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3606 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3607 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3608 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3609 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3614 @kindex G j (Summary)
3615 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3616 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3617 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3620 @kindex G g (Summary)
3621 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3622 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3623 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3626 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3627 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3628 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3629 to the group buffer.
3631 Variables related to summary movement:
3635 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3636 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3637 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3638 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
3639 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3640 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3641 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
3642 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3643 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
3644 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3645 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3646 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3647 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3648 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3650 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3651 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3652 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3653 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3654 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3655 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3656 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3658 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3660 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3661 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3662 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3663 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3664 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3666 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3667 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3668 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3669 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3670 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3671 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3672 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3673 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3676 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
3677 the given number of lines from the top.
3682 @node Choosing Articles
3683 @section Choosing Articles
3684 @cindex selecting articles
3687 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3688 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3692 @node Choosing Commands
3693 @subsection Choosing Commands
3695 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3696 and they all select and display an article.
3700 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3701 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3702 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3703 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3708 @kindex G n (Summary)
3709 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3710 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3711 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3716 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3717 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3718 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3723 @kindex G N (Summary)
3724 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3725 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3730 @kindex G P (Summary)
3731 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3732 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3735 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3736 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3737 Go to the next article with the same subject
3738 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3741 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3742 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3743 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3744 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3748 @kindex G f (Summary)
3750 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3751 Go to the first unread article
3752 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3756 @kindex G b (Summary)
3758 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3759 Go to the article with the highest score
3760 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3765 @kindex G l (Summary)
3766 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3767 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3770 @kindex G o (Summary)
3771 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3773 @cindex article history
3774 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3775 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3776 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3777 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3778 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3779 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3783 @node Choosing Variables
3784 @subsection Choosing Variables
3786 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3789 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3790 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3791 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3792 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3793 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3794 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3796 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3797 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3798 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3799 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3801 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3802 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3803 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3804 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3805 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3806 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3807 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3808 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3809 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3810 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3811 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3812 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3813 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3814 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3819 @node Paging the Article
3820 @section Scrolling the Article
3821 @cindex article scrolling
3826 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3827 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3828 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3829 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3830 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3833 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3834 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3835 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3838 @kindex RET (Summary)
3839 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3840 Scroll the current article one line forward
3841 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3844 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3845 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3846 Scroll the current article one line backward
3847 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3851 @kindex A g (Summary)
3853 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3854 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3855 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3856 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3857 the way it came from the server.
3862 @kindex A < (Summary)
3863 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3864 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3865 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3870 @kindex A > (Summary)
3871 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3872 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3876 @kindex A s (Summary)
3878 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3879 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3880 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3884 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3885 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3890 @node Reply Followup and Post
3891 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3894 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3895 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3899 @node Summary Mail Commands
3900 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3902 @cindex composing mail
3904 Commands for composing a mail message:
3910 @kindex S r (Summary)
3912 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3913 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3914 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3915 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3916 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3921 @kindex S R (Summary)
3922 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3923 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3924 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3925 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3926 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3929 @kindex S w (Summary)
3930 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3931 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3932 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3933 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3934 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3937 @kindex S W (Summary)
3938 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3939 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3940 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3941 the process/prefix convention.
3944 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3945 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3946 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3947 Forward the current article to some other person
3948 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3949 headers of the forwarded article.
3954 @kindex S m (Summary)
3955 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3956 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3957 Send a mail to some other person
3958 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3961 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3962 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3963 @cindex bouncing mail
3964 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3965 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3966 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3967 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3968 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3969 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
3970 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3971 very well fail, though.
3974 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3975 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3976 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3977 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3978 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3979 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3980 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3981 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3982 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3983 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3985 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3986 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3987 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3988 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3989 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung mu
\e,A_
\e(B sein!
3991 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3992 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3995 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3996 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3997 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3998 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3999 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4002 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4003 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4004 @cindex crossposting
4005 @cindex excessive crossposting
4006 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4007 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4009 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4010 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4011 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4012 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4013 command understands the process/prefix convention
4014 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4018 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4021 @node Summary Post Commands
4022 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4024 @cindex composing news
4026 Commands for posting a news article:
4032 @kindex S p (Summary)
4033 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4034 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4035 Post an article to the current group
4036 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4041 @kindex S f (Summary)
4042 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4043 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4044 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4048 @kindex S F (Summary)
4050 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4051 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4052 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4053 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4054 process/prefix convention.
4057 @kindex S n (Summary)
4058 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4059 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4060 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4063 @kindex S N (Summary)
4064 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4065 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4066 message through mail and include the original message
4067 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4068 the process/prefix convention.
4071 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4072 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4073 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4074 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4075 headers of the forwarded article.
4078 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4079 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4081 @cindex making digests
4082 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4083 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4084 process/prefix convention.
4087 @kindex S u (Summary)
4088 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4089 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4090 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4091 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4094 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4097 @node Canceling and Superseding
4098 @section Canceling Articles
4099 @cindex canceling articles
4100 @cindex superseding articles
4102 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4103 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4105 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4107 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4109 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4110 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4111 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4112 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4113 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4114 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4116 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4117 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4120 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4121 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4122 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4124 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4125 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4126 your original article.
4128 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4130 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4131 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4132 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4135 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4136 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4137 have posted almost the same article twice.
4139 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4140 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4141 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4142 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4143 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4144 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4145 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4146 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4147 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4148 canceled/superseded.
4150 Just remember, kids: There is no `c' in `supersede'.
4153 @node Marking Articles
4154 @section Marking Articles
4155 @cindex article marking
4156 @cindex article ticking
4159 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4161 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4162 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4163 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4165 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4168 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4169 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4170 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4174 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4178 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4179 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4183 @node Unread Articles
4184 @subsection Unread Articles
4186 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4191 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4192 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4194 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4195 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4196 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4197 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4198 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4202 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4203 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4205 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4206 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4207 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4210 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4211 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4213 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4218 @subsection Read Articles
4219 @cindex expirable mark
4221 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4226 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4227 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4228 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4231 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4232 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4235 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4236 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4237 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4240 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4241 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4244 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4245 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4248 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4249 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4252 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4253 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4256 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4257 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4260 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4261 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4264 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4265 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4269 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4270 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4271 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4275 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4276 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4278 One more special mark, though:
4282 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4283 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4285 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4286 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4287 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4288 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at any time.
4293 @subsection Other Marks
4294 @cindex process mark
4297 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4303 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4304 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4305 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4306 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4307 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4310 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4311 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4312 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4313 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4316 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4317 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4318 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4321 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4322 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4323 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4324 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4327 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4328 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4329 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4330 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4331 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4334 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4335 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4336 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4337 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4338 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4339 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4343 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4344 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4345 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4347 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4348 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4349 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4353 @subsection Setting Marks
4354 @cindex setting marks
4356 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4361 @kindex M c (Summary)
4362 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4363 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4364 @cindex mark as unread
4365 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4366 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4372 @kindex M t (Summary)
4373 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4374 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4375 @xref{Article Caching}.
4380 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4381 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4382 Mark the current article as dormant
4383 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4387 @kindex M d (Summary)
4389 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4390 Mark the current article as read
4391 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4395 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4396 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4397 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4402 @kindex M k (Summary)
4403 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4404 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4405 and then select the next unread article
4406 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4410 @kindex M K (Summary)
4411 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4412 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4413 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4414 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4417 @kindex M C (Summary)
4418 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4419 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4420 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4423 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4424 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4425 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4426 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4429 @kindex M H (Summary)
4430 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4431 Catchup the current group to point
4432 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4435 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4436 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4437 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4438 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4441 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4442 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4443 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4444 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4448 @kindex M e (Summary)
4450 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4451 Mark the current article as expirable
4452 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4455 @kindex M b (Summary)
4456 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4457 Set a bookmark in the current article
4458 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4461 @kindex M B (Summary)
4462 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4463 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4464 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4467 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4468 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4469 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4470 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4473 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4474 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4475 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4476 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4479 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4480 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4481 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4482 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4483 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4486 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4487 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4488 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4489 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4490 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4491 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4492 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4493 The default is @code{t}.
4496 @node Setting Process Marks
4497 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4498 @cindex setting process marks
4505 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4506 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4507 Mark the current article with the process mark
4508 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4509 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4513 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4514 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4515 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4516 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4519 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4521 Remove the process mark from all articles
4522 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4525 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4526 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4527 Invert the list of process marked articles
4528 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4531 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4532 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4533 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4534 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4537 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4538 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4539 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4542 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4543 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4544 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4545 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4548 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4549 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4550 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4551 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4554 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4555 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4556 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4557 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4560 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4561 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4562 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4565 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4566 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4567 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4568 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4571 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4572 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4573 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4576 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4578 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4579 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4582 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4583 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4584 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4585 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4588 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4589 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4590 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4591 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4594 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4595 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4596 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4597 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4606 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4607 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4608 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4611 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4612 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4613 additional articles.
4619 @kindex / / (Summary)
4620 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4621 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4622 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4625 @kindex / a (Summary)
4626 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4627 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4628 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4632 @kindex / u (Summary)
4634 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4635 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4636 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4637 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4638 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4641 @kindex / m (Summary)
4642 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4643 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4644 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4647 @kindex / t (Summary)
4648 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4649 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4650 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4651 articles younger than that number of days.
4654 @kindex / n (Summary)
4655 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4656 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4657 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4658 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4661 @kindex / w (Summary)
4662 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4663 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4664 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4668 @kindex / v (Summary)
4669 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4670 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4671 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4675 @kindex M S (Summary)
4676 @kindex / E (Summary)
4677 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4678 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4679 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4682 @kindex / D (Summary)
4683 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4684 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4685 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4688 @kindex / * (Summary)
4689 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4690 Include all cached articles in the limit
4691 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4694 @kindex / d (Summary)
4695 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4696 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4697 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4700 @kindex / T (Summary)
4701 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4702 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4705 @kindex / c (Summary)
4706 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4707 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4708 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4711 @kindex / C (Summary)
4712 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4713 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4714 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4715 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4723 @cindex article threading
4725 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4726 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4727 hierarchical fashion.
4729 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4730 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4731 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4732 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4733 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4734 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4735 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4737 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4741 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4744 A tree-like article structure.
4747 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4750 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4751 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4752 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4753 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4754 called loose threads.
4756 @item thread gathering
4757 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4759 @item sparse threads
4760 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4761 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4767 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4768 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4772 @node Customizing Threading
4773 @subsection Customizing Threading
4774 @cindex customizing threading
4777 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4778 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4779 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4780 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4785 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4788 @cindex loose threads
4791 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4792 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4793 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4794 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4795 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4796 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4798 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
4799 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
4800 There are four possible values:
4804 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4805 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4806 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4807 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4808 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4813 @cindex adopting articles
4818 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4819 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4820 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4821 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4824 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4825 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4826 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4827 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4828 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4829 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4830 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4833 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4834 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4835 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4839 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4840 display them after one another.
4843 Don't gather loose threads.
4846 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4847 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4848 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4849 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
4850 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4851 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4852 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4853 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4854 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4855 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
4856 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4858 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4859 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
4860 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4863 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4864 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4865 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4866 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4867 simplification is used.
4869 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4870 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4871 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4872 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4874 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4876 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4882 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4883 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4884 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4885 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4890 (mapconcat 'identity
4891 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4893 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4896 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4899 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4900 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4901 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4902 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4903 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4904 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4906 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4909 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4910 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4911 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4913 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4914 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4917 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4918 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4919 Remove excessive whitespace.
4922 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4925 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4926 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4927 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4928 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4929 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4930 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4931 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4932 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4934 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4935 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4936 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4937 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4938 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4939 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4940 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4941 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4942 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4946 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4947 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4948 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4949 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4951 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4952 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4953 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4956 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4960 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4961 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4967 @node Filling In Threads
4968 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4971 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4972 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4973 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4974 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
4975 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
4976 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
4977 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
4978 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
4979 old headers only works if the backend you are using carries overview
4980 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4981 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4982 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
4984 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4985 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4986 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4988 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4989 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4990 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4991 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4992 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4993 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4994 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
4995 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4996 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
4997 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
4998 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4999 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
5000 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5001 @code{nil} by default.
5006 @node More Threading
5007 @subsubsection More Threading
5010 @item gnus-show-threads
5011 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5012 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5013 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5014 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5015 slower and more awkward.
5017 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5018 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5019 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5022 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5023 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5024 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5025 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5026 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5027 threads are expunged.
5029 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5030 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5031 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5034 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5035 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5036 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5037 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5038 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5041 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5042 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5043 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5049 @node Low-Level Threading
5050 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5054 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5055 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5056 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
5057 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
5058 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
5059 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
5061 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5062 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5063 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5064 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5065 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5066 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5067 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5068 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5069 meaningful. Here's one example:
5072 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5074 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5075 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5077 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5079 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5086 @node Thread Commands
5087 @subsection Thread Commands
5088 @cindex thread commands
5094 @kindex T k (Summary)
5095 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5096 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5097 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5098 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5099 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5104 @kindex T l (Summary)
5105 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5107 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5108 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5111 @kindex T i (Summary)
5112 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5113 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5114 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5117 @kindex T # (Summary)
5118 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5119 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5120 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5123 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5124 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5125 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5126 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5129 @kindex T T (Summary)
5130 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5131 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5134 @kindex T s (Summary)
5135 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5136 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5137 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5140 @kindex T h (Summary)
5141 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5142 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5145 @kindex T S (Summary)
5146 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5147 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5150 @kindex T H (Summary)
5151 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5152 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5155 @kindex T t (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5157 Re-thread the current article's thread
5158 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5159 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5162 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5163 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5164 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5165 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5169 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5170 understand the numeric prefix.
5175 @kindex T n (Summary)
5176 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5177 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5180 @kindex T p (Summary)
5181 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5182 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5185 @kindex T d (Summary)
5186 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5187 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5190 @kindex T u (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5192 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5195 @kindex T o (Summary)
5196 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5197 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5200 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5201 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5202 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5203 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5204 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5205 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5206 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5207 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5208 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5209 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5210 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5211 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5218 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5219 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5220 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5221 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5222 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5223 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5224 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5225 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5226 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5227 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5228 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5230 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5231 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5232 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5233 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5234 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5236 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5237 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5238 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5240 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5241 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5242 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5243 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5244 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5245 ascending article order.
5247 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5248 by number, you could do something like:
5251 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5252 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5253 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5254 (reverse gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5257 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5258 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5259 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5260 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5261 which the articles arrived.
5263 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5267 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5269 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5270 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5273 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5274 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5275 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5276 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5279 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5280 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5281 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5282 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5283 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5284 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5285 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5286 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5287 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5288 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5289 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5290 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5291 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5293 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5297 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5298 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5299 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5304 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5305 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5306 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5307 @cindex article pre-fetch
5310 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5311 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5312 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5313 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5314 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5316 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5317 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
5319 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5320 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5321 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5322 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5323 connection is blocked.
5325 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5326 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5327 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5328 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
5330 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5331 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5332 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5333 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5336 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5339 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5340 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5341 happen automatically.
5343 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5344 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5345 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5346 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5347 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5348 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5349 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5351 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5352 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5353 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5354 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5355 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5356 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5357 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5358 data structure as the only parameter.
5360 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
5361 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5364 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5365 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5366 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5367 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5370 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5373 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5374 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much. It's
5375 probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5377 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5378 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5379 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5380 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5384 Remove articles when they are read.
5387 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5390 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5392 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5393 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5394 @c from the next group.
5397 @node Article Caching
5398 @section Article Caching
5399 @cindex article caching
5402 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5403 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5404 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5405 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5406 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5408 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5410 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5411 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5412 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5413 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5414 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5415 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5416 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5417 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5419 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5420 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5421 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5422 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5423 as dormant, and don't worry.
5425 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5427 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5428 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5429 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5430 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5431 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5432 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5433 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5434 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5435 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5436 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5438 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5439 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5440 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5441 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5442 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5443 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5444 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5445 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5446 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5447 not then be downloaded by this command.
5449 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5450 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5451 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5452 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5453 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5454 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5456 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5457 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5458 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5459 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5460 variables, the group is not cached.
5462 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5463 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5464 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5465 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5466 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5467 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
5468 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5469 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5470 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5474 @node Persistent Articles
5475 @section Persistent Articles
5476 @cindex persistent articles
5478 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5479 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5480 useful in my opinion.
5482 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5483 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5484 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5485 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5486 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5487 the expiry going on at the news server.
5489 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5490 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5491 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5497 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5498 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5501 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5502 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5503 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5504 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5508 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5510 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5511 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5512 interested in persistent articles:
5515 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5519 @node Article Backlog
5520 @section Article Backlog
5522 @cindex article backlog
5524 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5525 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5526 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
5527 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5528 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5529 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5530 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
5531 increase memory usage some.
5533 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5534 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
5535 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5536 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
5537 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5538 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5539 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5541 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5544 @node Saving Articles
5545 @section Saving Articles
5546 @cindex saving articles
5548 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5549 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5550 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5551 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5552 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5554 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5555 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
5556 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5558 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5559 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5560 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5561 deleted before saving.
5567 @kindex O o (Summary)
5569 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5570 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5571 Save the current article using the default article saver
5572 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5575 @kindex O m (Summary)
5576 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5577 Save the current article in mail format
5578 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5581 @kindex O r (Summary)
5582 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5583 Save the current article in rmail format
5584 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5587 @kindex O f (Summary)
5588 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5589 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5590 Save the current article in plain file format
5591 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5594 @kindex O F (Summary)
5595 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5596 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5597 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5600 @kindex O b (Summary)
5601 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5602 Save the current article body in plain file format
5603 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5606 @kindex O h (Summary)
5607 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5608 Save the current article in mh folder format
5609 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5612 @kindex O v (Summary)
5613 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5614 Save the current article in a VM folder
5615 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5618 @kindex O p (Summary)
5619 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5620 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5621 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5624 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5625 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5626 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5627 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5628 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5629 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5630 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5631 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5632 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5633 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5634 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5635 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5639 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5640 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5641 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5642 functions below, or you can create your own.
5646 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5647 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5648 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5649 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5650 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5651 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5652 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5654 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5655 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5656 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5657 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5658 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5659 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5661 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5662 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5663 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5664 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5665 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5666 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5667 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5669 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5670 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5671 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5672 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5673 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5675 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5676 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5677 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5678 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5679 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5682 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5683 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5684 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5685 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5686 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5688 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5689 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5690 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5691 reader to use this setting.
5694 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5695 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5696 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5697 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5700 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5701 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5702 available functions that generate names:
5706 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5707 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5708 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5710 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5711 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5712 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5714 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5715 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5716 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5718 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5719 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5720 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5723 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5724 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp
5725 into the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would
5726 like to save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and
5727 articles related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable
5731 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5732 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5733 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5734 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5737 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5738 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5739 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5740 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5741 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5742 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5743 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5744 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5745 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5747 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5748 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5749 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5750 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5752 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5753 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5754 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file name.
5756 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5757 lots of mail groups called things like
5758 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5759 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5760 following will do just that:
5763 (defun my-save-name (group)
5764 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5765 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5767 (setq gnus-split-methods
5768 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5773 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5774 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5775 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5776 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5777 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5778 all the files in the top level directory
5779 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5780 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5781 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5782 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5784 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5785 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5786 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5787 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5788 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5791 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5795 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5796 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5799 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5800 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5801 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5802 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5805 @node Decoding Articles
5806 @section Decoding Articles
5807 @cindex decoding articles
5809 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5810 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5813 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5814 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5815 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5816 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5817 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5818 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5822 @cindex article series
5823 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5824 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5825 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5826 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5827 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5829 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5830 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5831 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5833 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
5834 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5835 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5837 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5838 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5839 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5842 @node Uuencoded Articles
5843 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5845 @cindex uuencoded articles
5850 @kindex X u (Summary)
5851 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5852 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5853 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5856 @kindex X U (Summary)
5857 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5858 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5859 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5862 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5863 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5864 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5867 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5868 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5869 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5870 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5874 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5875 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5876 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5877 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5878 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5880 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5881 @sc{GNUS 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5882 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5883 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5886 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5887 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5888 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5889 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5890 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5891 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5895 @node Shell Archives
5896 @subsection Shell Archives
5898 @cindex shell archives
5899 @cindex shared articles
5901 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5902 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5903 some commands to deal with these:
5908 @kindex X s (Summary)
5909 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5910 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5913 @kindex X S (Summary)
5914 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5915 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5918 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5919 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5920 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5923 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5924 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5925 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5926 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5930 @node PostScript Files
5931 @subsection PostScript Files
5937 @kindex X p (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5939 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5942 @kindex X P (Summary)
5943 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5944 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5945 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5948 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5949 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5950 View the current PostScript series
5951 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5954 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5955 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5956 View and save the current PostScript series
5957 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5962 @subsection Other Files
5966 @kindex X o (Summary)
5967 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5968 Save the current series
5969 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5972 @kindex X b (Summary)
5973 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5974 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5975 doesn't really work yet.
5979 @node Decoding Variables
5980 @subsection Decoding Variables
5982 Adjective, not verb.
5985 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5986 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5987 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5991 @node Rule Variables
5992 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5993 @cindex rule variables
5995 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5996 variables are of the form
5999 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6006 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6007 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6009 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6010 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6013 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6014 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
6017 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6018 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6019 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6020 user and default view rules.
6022 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6023 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6024 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6029 @node Other Decode Variables
6030 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6033 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6035 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6036 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6037 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6038 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6039 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6043 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6044 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6047 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6048 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6049 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6052 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6053 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6054 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6055 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6056 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6059 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6060 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6061 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6063 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6064 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6065 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6066 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6067 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6070 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6071 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6072 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6074 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6075 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6076 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6077 looking for files to display.
6079 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6080 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6081 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6084 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6085 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6086 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6089 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6090 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6091 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6094 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6095 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6096 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6099 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6100 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6101 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6102 decoded articles as unread.
6104 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6105 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6106 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6107 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6109 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6110 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6111 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6113 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6114 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6116 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6117 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6118 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6119 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6121 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6122 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6123 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6124 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6125 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6126 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
6127 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6128 simply dropped them.
6133 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6134 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6138 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6139 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6140 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6141 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6142 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6143 for you when you post the article.
6145 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6146 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6147 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6148 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6150 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6151 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6152 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6153 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6154 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6155 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6156 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6158 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6159 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6160 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6161 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6162 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6163 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6164 Default is @code{t}.
6170 @subsection Viewing Files
6171 @cindex viewing files
6172 @cindex pseudo-articles
6174 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6175 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6176 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6177 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6178 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6179 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6180 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6182 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6183 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6184 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6185 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6187 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6188 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6189 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6191 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6192 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6193 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6194 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6195 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6197 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6198 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6199 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6200 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6201 a list of parameters to that command.
6203 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6204 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6205 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6207 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6208 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6209 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6212 @node Article Treatment
6213 @section Article Treatment
6215 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6216 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6217 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6218 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6219 these articles easier.
6222 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6223 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6224 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6225 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6226 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6227 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6228 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6232 @node Article Highlighting
6233 @subsection Article Highlighting
6234 @cindex highlighting
6236 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6237 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6242 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6243 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6244 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6245 Do much highlighting of the current article
6246 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6247 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6249 Most users would prefer using @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} in
6250 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}) instead.
6251 This is a bit less agressive---it highlights only the headers, the
6252 signature and adds buttons.
6255 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6257 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6258 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6259 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6260 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6261 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6262 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6263 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6264 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6265 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6268 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6269 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6270 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6272 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6275 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6277 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6278 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6279 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6281 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6282 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6283 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6285 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6286 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6287 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6289 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6290 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6291 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6292 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6293 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6294 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6296 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6297 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6298 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6300 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6301 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6302 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6304 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6305 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6306 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6307 that it's a citation.
6309 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6310 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6311 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6313 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6314 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6315 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6317 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6318 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6319 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6320 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6326 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6327 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6328 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6329 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6330 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6331 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6332 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6333 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6338 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to highlight articles automatically.
6341 @node Article Fontisizing
6342 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6344 @cindex article emphasis
6346 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6347 @kindex W e (Summary)
6348 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6349 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6350 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6351 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6353 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6354 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6355 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6356 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6357 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6358 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6359 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6360 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6364 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6365 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6366 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6369 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6370 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6371 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6372 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6373 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6374 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6375 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6376 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6377 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6378 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6379 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6380 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6381 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6383 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6384 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6385 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6389 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6392 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to fontize articles automatically.
6395 @node Article Hiding
6396 @subsection Article Hiding
6397 @cindex article hiding
6399 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6400 too much cruft in most articles.
6405 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6406 @findex gnus-article-hide
6407 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6408 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6409 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6412 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6413 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6414 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6418 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6419 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6420 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6421 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6424 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6425 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6426 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6430 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6431 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6432 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6433 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6434 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6435 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
6436 articles that have signatures in them do:
6438 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
6440 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp)
6442 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
6443 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
6445 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6448 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
6453 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6454 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6455 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6456 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6459 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6461 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6462 customizing the hiding:
6466 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6467 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6468 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6469 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6470 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6471 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6472 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6477 Starting point of the hidden text.
6479 Ending point of the hidden text.
6481 Number of characters in the hidden region.
6483 Number of lines of hidden text.
6486 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6487 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6488 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6493 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6494 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6496 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6497 following two variables:
6500 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6501 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6502 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6503 50), hide the cited text.
6505 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6506 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6507 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6512 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6513 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6514 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6515 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6516 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6517 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6521 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6522 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6523 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6525 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6526 citation customization.
6528 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to hide article elements
6532 @node Article Washing
6533 @subsection Article Washing
6535 @cindex article washing
6537 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6538 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6540 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6541 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6547 @kindex W l (Summary)
6548 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6549 Remove page breaks from the current article
6550 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6554 @kindex W r (Summary)
6555 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6556 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6557 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6558 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6559 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6560 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6562 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6563 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6564 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6565 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6568 @kindex W t (Summary)
6569 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6570 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6571 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6574 @kindex W v (Summary)
6575 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6576 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6577 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6580 @kindex W m (Summary)
6581 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6582 Toggle whether to display the article as @sc{mime} message
6583 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6586 @kindex W o (Summary)
6587 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6588 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6591 @kindex W d (Summary)
6592 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6593 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
6595 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
6597 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
6598 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
6599 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6602 @kindex W w (Summary)
6603 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6604 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6605 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6606 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6608 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6612 @kindex W c (Summary)
6613 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6614 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
6615 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
6616 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
6617 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6620 @kindex W f (Summary)
6622 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6623 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6624 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6625 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6631 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6632 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6633 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6634 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6635 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6636 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6637 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6638 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6639 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6640 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6641 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6642 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6643 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6644 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6648 @kindex W b (Summary)
6649 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6650 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6651 @xref{Article Buttons}.
6654 @kindex W B (Summary)
6655 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6656 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6657 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6660 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6662 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6663 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6666 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6667 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6668 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6669 lines with a single empty line.
6670 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6673 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6674 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6675 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6676 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6679 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6680 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6681 Do all the three commands above
6682 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6685 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6686 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6687 Remove all blank lines
6688 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6691 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6692 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6693 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6694 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6697 @kindex W E e (Summary)
6698 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
6699 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
6700 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
6704 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to wash articles automatically.
6707 @node Article Buttons
6708 @subsection Article Buttons
6711 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6712 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6713 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6714 button on these references.
6716 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6717 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6718 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6723 @item gnus-button-alist
6724 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6725 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6728 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6734 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6735 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6736 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6739 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6740 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6741 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6744 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6745 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6746 avoid false matches.
6749 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6752 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6753 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6757 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6760 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6763 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6764 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6765 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6766 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6767 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6770 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6773 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6775 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6776 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6777 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6778 default values of the variables above.
6780 @item gnus-article-button-face
6781 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6782 Face used on buttons.
6784 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6785 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6786 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6790 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6794 @subsection Article Date
6796 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6797 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6798 when the article was sent.
6803 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6804 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6805 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6806 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6809 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6810 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6812 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6813 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6816 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6817 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6818 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6821 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6822 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6823 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6824 @findex format-time-string
6825 Display the date using a user-defined format
6826 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6827 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6828 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6829 for a list of possible format specs.
6832 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6833 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6834 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6835 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6836 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6837 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6838 updated continually, you can put
6841 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6844 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6845 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6849 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6850 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6851 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6852 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6853 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6854 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6855 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6859 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to display the date in your
6860 preferred format automatically.
6863 @node Article Signature
6864 @subsection Article Signature
6866 @cindex article signature
6868 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6869 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6870 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6871 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6872 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6873 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6874 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6875 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6876 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6879 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6880 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6881 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6882 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6883 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6884 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6885 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6886 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6889 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6892 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6893 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6898 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6901 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6904 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6905 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6907 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6908 in question is not a signature.
6911 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6912 listed above. Here's an example:
6915 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6916 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6919 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6920 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6921 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6922 signature after all.
6926 @section MIME Commands
6927 @cindex MIME decoding
6930 @item M-tgnus-summary-display-buttonized
6931 @kindex M-t (Summary)
6932 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
6933 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
6934 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
6937 @kindex W M w (Summary)
6938 Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
6939 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
6942 @kindex W M c (Summary)
6943 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
6944 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
6946 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
6947 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
6948 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
6949 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
6950 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
6951 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
6954 @kindex W M v (Summary)
6955 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
6956 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
6963 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
6964 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
6965 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
6966 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
6969 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
6972 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
6976 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
6977 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
6978 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
6979 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
6980 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
6982 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
6983 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
6984 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
6985 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
6986 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
6987 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
6988 save all jpegs into some directory).
6990 Here's an example function the does the latter:
6993 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
6994 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
6996 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
6997 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
6998 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
6999 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7000 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7006 @node Article Commands
7007 @section Article Commands
7014 @kindex A P (Summary)
7015 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
7016 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
7017 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
7018 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
7019 run just before printing the buffer.
7024 @node Summary Sorting
7025 @section Summary Sorting
7026 @cindex summary sorting
7028 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
7029 can't really see why you'd want that.
7034 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
7035 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
7036 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
7039 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
7040 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
7041 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
7044 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
7045 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
7046 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
7049 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
7050 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
7051 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
7054 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
7055 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
7056 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
7059 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
7060 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
7061 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
7064 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
7065 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
7066 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
7067 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
7068 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
7072 @node Finding the Parent
7073 @section Finding the Parent
7074 @cindex parent articles
7075 @cindex referring articles
7080 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
7081 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
7082 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
7083 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
7084 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
7085 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
7086 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
7087 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
7088 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
7090 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
7091 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
7092 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
7093 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
7094 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
7098 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
7099 @kindex A R (Summary)
7100 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
7101 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
7104 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
7105 @kindex A T (Summary)
7106 Display the full thread where the current article appears
7107 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
7108 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
7109 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
7110 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
7111 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
7112 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
7114 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
7115 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
7116 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
7117 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
7118 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
7119 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
7122 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
7123 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
7125 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
7126 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
7127 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
7128 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
7129 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
7130 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
7131 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
7134 The current select method will be used when fetching by
7135 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
7136 by giving this command a prefix.
7138 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
7139 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
7140 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
7141 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
7142 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
7143 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
7146 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
7147 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
7148 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
7149 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
7150 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
7151 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
7154 @node Alternative Approaches
7155 @section Alternative Approaches
7157 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
7158 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
7161 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
7162 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
7167 @subsection Pick and Read
7168 @cindex pick and read
7170 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
7171 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
7172 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
7173 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
7175 @findex gnus-pick-mode
7176 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
7177 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
7178 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
7179 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
7180 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
7182 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
7187 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
7188 Pick the article or thread on the current line
7189 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7190 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
7191 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
7192 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
7193 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
7194 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
7197 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
7198 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
7199 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
7200 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
7204 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
7205 Unpick the thread or article
7206 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7207 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
7208 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
7209 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
7210 the thread or article at that line.
7214 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
7215 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
7216 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
7217 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
7218 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
7219 will still be visible when you are reading.
7223 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
7224 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
7225 which is mapped to the same function
7226 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
7228 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
7231 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7234 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
7235 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
7237 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
7238 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
7239 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
7241 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
7242 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
7243 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
7244 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
7245 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
7246 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
7247 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
7251 @subsection Binary Groups
7252 @cindex binary groups
7254 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7255 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7256 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7257 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7258 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7259 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7260 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7263 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7264 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7265 command, when you have turned on this mode
7266 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7268 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7269 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7273 @section Tree Display
7276 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7277 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
7278 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7279 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7282 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7285 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7286 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7287 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7289 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7290 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7291 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7292 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7293 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7295 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7296 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7297 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7298 default is @code{modeline}.
7300 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7301 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7302 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7303 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7304 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7305 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7306 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7312 The name of the poster.
7314 The @code{From} header.
7316 The number of the article.
7318 The opening bracket.
7320 The closing bracket.
7325 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7327 Variables related to the display are:
7330 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7331 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7332 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7333 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7334 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7335 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7337 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7338 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7339 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7340 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7344 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7345 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7346 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
7347 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
7348 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7349 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7350 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7351 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7352 other windows displayed next to it.
7354 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7355 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7356 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7357 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7358 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7359 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7360 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7364 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7367 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7377 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7381 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7382 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7384 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7386 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7391 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7392 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7393 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7396 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7397 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7398 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7399 (gnus-add-configuration
7403 (summary 0.75 point)
7408 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7411 @node Mail Group Commands
7412 @section Mail Group Commands
7413 @cindex mail group commands
7415 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7416 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7418 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7419 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7424 @kindex B e (Summary)
7425 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7426 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7427 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7430 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7431 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7432 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7433 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7434 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7435 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7438 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7439 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7440 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7441 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7442 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7443 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7446 @kindex B m (Summary)
7448 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7449 Move the article from one mail group to another
7450 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7453 @kindex B c (Summary)
7455 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7456 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7457 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7458 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7461 @kindex B B (Summary)
7462 @cindex crosspost mail
7463 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7464 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7465 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7466 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7467 be properly updated.
7470 @kindex B i (Summary)
7471 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7472 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7473 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7474 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7477 @kindex B r (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7479 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7480 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7481 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7482 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7486 @kindex B w (Summary)
7488 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7489 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7490 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7491 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7492 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7493 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7496 @kindex B q (Summary)
7497 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7498 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7499 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7500 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7503 @kindex B t (Summary)
7504 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7505 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7506 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7509 @kindex B p (Summary)
7510 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7511 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7512 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7513 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7514 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7515 article from your news server (or rather, from
7516 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7517 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7518 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7519 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7520 just not have arrived yet.
7524 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7525 @cindex moving articles
7526 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
7527 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7528 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7529 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7530 suggestions you find reasonable.
7533 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7534 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7535 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7536 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7540 @node Various Summary Stuff
7541 @section Various Summary Stuff
7544 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7545 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7546 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7547 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7551 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7552 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7553 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7555 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7556 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7557 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7558 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7559 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7560 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7563 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7564 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7565 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7566 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7567 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7569 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7570 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7571 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
7574 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7575 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7576 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7577 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7578 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7579 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7580 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
7581 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7582 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7583 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7588 @node Summary Group Information
7589 @subsection Summary Group Information
7594 @kindex H f (Summary)
7595 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7596 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7597 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7598 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7599 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7600 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7601 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7602 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7603 be used for fetching the file.
7606 @kindex H d (Summary)
7607 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7608 Give a brief description of the current group
7609 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7610 rereading the description from the server.
7613 @kindex H h (Summary)
7614 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7615 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7616 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7619 @kindex H i (Summary)
7620 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7621 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7625 @node Searching for Articles
7626 @subsection Searching for Articles
7631 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7632 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7633 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7634 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7637 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7638 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7639 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7640 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7644 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7645 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7646 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7647 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7651 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7652 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7653 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7654 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7657 @node Summary Generation Commands
7658 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7663 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7664 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7665 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7668 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7669 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7670 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7671 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7676 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7677 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7682 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7683 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7684 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7685 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7686 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7687 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7688 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7689 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7690 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7694 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7695 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7696 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7697 several documents into one biiig group
7698 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7699 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7700 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7701 command understands the process/prefix convention
7702 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7705 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7706 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7707 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7708 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7709 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7710 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7714 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7715 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7716 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7719 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7720 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7721 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7722 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7725 @kindex M-C-g (Summary)
7726 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
7727 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7728 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
7733 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7734 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7735 @cindex summary exit
7736 @cindex exiting groups
7738 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7739 group and return you to the group buffer.
7745 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7747 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7748 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7749 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7750 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7751 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7752 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7753 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7754 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7755 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7756 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7757 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7761 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7763 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7764 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7765 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7769 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7771 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7772 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7773 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7774 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7777 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7778 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7779 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7780 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7783 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7784 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7785 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7786 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7789 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7790 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7791 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7792 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7793 all articles, both read and unread.
7797 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7798 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7799 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7800 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7801 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7802 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7803 articles, both read and unread.
7806 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7807 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7808 Exit the group and go to the next group
7809 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7812 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7813 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7814 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7815 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7818 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7819 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7820 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7821 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7822 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7823 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7826 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7827 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7830 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7831 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7832 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7833 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7834 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7835 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7836 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7837 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7838 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7839 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7840 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7841 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7843 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7845 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7846 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7847 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7848 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7849 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7850 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7851 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7852 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7853 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7856 @node Crosspost Handling
7857 @section Crosspost Handling
7861 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7862 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7863 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7864 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7865 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7866 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7869 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7870 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7871 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7872 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7873 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7875 @cindex cross-posting
7878 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7879 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7880 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7881 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7882 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7883 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7884 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7885 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7886 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7887 the cross reference mechanism.
7889 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7890 @cindex overview.fmt
7891 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7892 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7893 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7894 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7895 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7896 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7899 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7900 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7901 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7906 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7909 @node Duplicate Suppression
7910 @section Duplicate Suppression
7912 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7913 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7914 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7915 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various reasons.
7919 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7920 is evil and not very common.
7923 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7924 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7927 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7928 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7931 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7934 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7935 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7937 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7938 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7939 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7940 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7941 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7942 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7943 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7946 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7947 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7948 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7949 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7950 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7954 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7955 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7956 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7958 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7959 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7960 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7961 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7962 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
7963 session are suppressed.
7965 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7966 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7967 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7968 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7970 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7971 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7972 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7973 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7976 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
7977 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7978 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7979 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7980 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
7981 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7982 to you to figure out, I think.
7985 @node The Article Buffer
7986 @chapter The Article Buffer
7987 @cindex article buffer
7989 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7990 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7991 tell gnus otherwise.
7994 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7995 * Using MIME:: Pushing to mime articles as @sc{mime} messages.
7996 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7997 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7998 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
8002 @node Hiding Headers
8003 @section Hiding Headers
8004 @cindex hiding headers
8005 @cindex deleting headers
8007 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
8008 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
8010 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
8011 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
8012 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
8013 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
8014 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
8015 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
8016 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
8017 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
8018 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
8020 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
8024 @item gnus-visible-headers
8025 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
8026 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
8027 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
8028 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
8030 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
8031 the article and the subject, you'd say:
8034 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
8037 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
8040 @item gnus-ignored-headers
8041 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
8042 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
8043 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
8044 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
8045 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
8047 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
8048 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
8051 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
8054 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
8057 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
8058 variable will have no effect.
8062 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
8063 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
8064 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
8065 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
8066 the headers are to be displayed.
8068 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
8069 and then the subject, you might say something like:
8072 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
8075 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
8076 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed
8079 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8080 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8081 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
8082 You can hide further boring headers by entering
8083 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
8084 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
8085 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
8086 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
8087 @dfn{boring conditions} that gnus can check and remove from sight.
8089 These conditions are:
8092 Remove all empty headers.
8094 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
8095 @code{Newsgroups} header.
8097 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
8100 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
8103 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
8106 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
8108 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
8111 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
8114 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
8115 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
8118 This is also the default value for this variable.
8122 @section Using @sc{mime}
8125 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
8126 while people stand around yawning.
8128 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
8129 while all newsreaders die of fear.
8131 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
8132 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
8133 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
8135 @vindex gnus-show-mime
8136 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
8137 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
8138 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
8139 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
8140 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
8141 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
8142 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
8143 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
8144 existed yet, sorry).
8146 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
8147 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
8148 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
8149 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
8150 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
8151 buffer. These can't be avoided.
8153 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
8154 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
8155 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
8156 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
8157 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
8158 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
8159 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
8160 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
8161 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
8164 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
8166 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
8167 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
8168 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
8169 buffer when there are nobody else.
8172 @node Customizing Articles
8173 @section Customizing Articles
8174 @cindex article customization
8176 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8177 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
8178 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
8179 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
8181 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8182 @findex gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers
8183 By default this hook just contains
8184 @code{gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers},
8185 @code{gnus-hide-boring-headers}, @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike},
8186 and @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} (and under XEmacs,
8187 @code{gnus-article-display-x-face}), but there are thousands, nay
8188 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
8189 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
8190 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
8191 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
8192 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
8194 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
8195 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
8196 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
8197 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
8198 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
8201 @node Article Keymap
8202 @section Article Keymap
8204 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
8205 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
8206 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
8207 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
8210 A few additional keystrokes are available:
8215 @kindex SPACE (Article)
8216 @findex gnus-article-next-page
8217 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
8220 @kindex DEL (Article)
8221 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
8222 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
8225 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
8226 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
8227 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
8228 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
8229 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
8232 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
8233 @findex gnus-article-mail
8234 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
8235 given a prefix, include the mail.
8239 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
8240 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
8241 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
8245 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
8246 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
8247 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
8250 @kindex TAB (Article)
8251 @findex gnus-article-next-button
8252 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
8253 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
8256 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
8257 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
8258 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8264 @section Misc Article
8268 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8269 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8270 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8271 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8274 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
8275 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
8277 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
8278 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
8280 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8281 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8282 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8283 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8284 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8285 the contents of the article buffer.
8287 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8288 @item gnus-article-display-hook
8289 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
8290 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
8291 hiding headers, and the like.
8293 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8294 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8295 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8297 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8298 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8299 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8300 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8302 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8303 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8304 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8305 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8306 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8311 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8312 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8315 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
8318 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8320 @item gnus-break-pages
8321 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8322 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8323 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8324 paging will not be done.
8326 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8327 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8328 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8333 @node Composing Messages
8334 @chapter Composing Messages
8335 @cindex composing messages
8338 @cindex sending mail
8343 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8344 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8345 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8346 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8347 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8348 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8349 to make gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8352 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8353 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8354 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8355 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8356 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8357 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8358 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8359 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8362 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8363 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8369 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8372 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8373 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8374 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8375 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8377 @item gnus-add-to-list
8378 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8379 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8380 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8388 Variables for composing news articles:
8391 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8392 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8393 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8394 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8395 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8396 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8397 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8398 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8399 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want gnus to keep a history
8402 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8403 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8404 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8405 file. It is 1000 by default.
8410 @node Posting Server
8411 @section Posting Server
8413 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8414 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8416 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8418 @vindex gnus-post-method
8420 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
8421 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8422 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8423 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8424 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8427 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8430 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8431 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8432 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8433 the ``current'' server for posting.
8435 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8436 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8438 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8439 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8442 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8443 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8444 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8449 @section Mail and Post
8451 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8455 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8456 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8457 @cindex mailing lists
8459 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8460 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8461 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8462 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8463 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8464 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8465 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8466 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8467 still a pain, though.
8471 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8472 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8473 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8476 @findex ispell-message
8478 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8482 @node Archived Messages
8483 @section Archived Messages
8484 @cindex archived messages
8485 @cindex sent messages
8487 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8488 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8489 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8490 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8493 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8494 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
8495 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8499 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8500 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8501 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8502 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8505 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8506 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8507 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8508 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8511 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8512 '(nnfolder "archive"
8513 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8514 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8515 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8518 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8520 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8521 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8522 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8524 This variable can be used to do the following:
8528 Messages will be saved in that group.
8529 @item a list of strings
8530 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8531 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8532 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8534 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8539 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8541 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8544 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8546 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8549 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8551 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8552 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8553 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8554 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8559 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8560 '((if (message-news-p)
8565 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8566 messages in one file per month:
8569 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8570 '((if (message-news-p)
8572 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8573 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8576 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8577 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8579 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8580 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8581 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8582 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8583 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8584 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8585 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8586 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8587 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8588 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8590 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8591 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8592 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8593 this will disable archiving.
8596 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8597 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8598 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8599 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8600 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8603 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8604 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8605 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8608 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8609 but the latter is the preferred method.
8613 @node Posting Styles
8614 @section Posting Styles
8615 @cindex posting styles
8618 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8620 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8621 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8622 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8625 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8626 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8627 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8628 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8629 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8634 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8635 (organization "What me?"))
8637 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8638 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8639 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8642 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8643 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8644 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8645 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8646 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8647 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8648 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8649 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8651 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8652 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8653 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8654 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8655 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8656 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8659 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8660 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8661 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8662 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
8663 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8664 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8667 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8668 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8669 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8671 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
8672 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
8673 of the two dynamically bound variables @code{message-this-is-news} and
8674 @code{message-this-is-mail}.
8676 @vindex message-this-is-mail
8677 @vindex message-this-is-news
8679 So here's a new example:
8682 (setq gnus-posting-styles
8684 (signature-file "~/.signature")
8686 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8687 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
8689 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8690 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8691 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
8692 (message-this-is-news
8693 (signature my-news-signature))
8694 (posting-from-work-p
8695 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
8696 (address "user@@bar.foo")
8697 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
8698 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
8700 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
8708 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8709 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8710 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8711 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8712 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8714 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8715 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8716 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8717 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8718 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8722 @vindex nndraft-directory
8723 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8724 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8725 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8726 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8727 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8728 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8730 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8731 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8734 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8735 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8736 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8737 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8738 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8739 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8740 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8741 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8742 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8743 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8744 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8745 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8746 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8747 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8749 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8750 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8751 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8753 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8755 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8756 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8757 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8759 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8762 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8763 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8764 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8765 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8766 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8767 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8768 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8771 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8772 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8773 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8776 @node Rejected Articles
8777 @section Rejected Articles
8778 @cindex rejected articles
8780 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8781 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8782 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8783 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8785 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
8786 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8787 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8788 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
8789 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8791 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8792 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8793 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8796 @node Select Methods
8797 @chapter Select Methods
8798 @cindex foreign groups
8799 @cindex select methods
8801 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8802 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8803 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8804 personal mail group.
8806 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8807 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8808 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8809 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8810 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8811 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8813 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8814 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8816 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8819 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8820 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8821 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8822 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8823 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8825 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8828 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8829 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8830 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8831 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8832 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8833 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8837 @node The Server Buffer
8838 @section The Server Buffer
8840 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8841 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8842 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8843 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8844 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8845 backend represents a virtual server.
8847 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8848 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8849 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8850 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8852 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8853 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8854 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8855 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8856 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8857 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8858 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8860 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8861 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8864 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8865 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8866 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8867 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8868 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8869 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8870 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8873 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8874 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8877 @node Server Buffer Format
8878 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8879 @cindex server buffer format
8881 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8882 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8883 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8884 variable, with some simple extensions:
8889 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8892 The name of this server.
8895 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8898 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8901 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8902 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8903 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8904 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8914 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8917 @node Server Commands
8918 @subsection Server Commands
8919 @cindex server commands
8925 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8926 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8930 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8931 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8934 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8935 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8936 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8940 @findex gnus-server-exit
8941 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8945 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8946 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8950 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8951 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8955 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8956 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8960 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8961 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8965 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8966 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8967 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8972 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8973 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8974 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8975 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8980 @node Example Methods
8981 @subsection Example Methods
8983 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8986 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8989 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8995 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8996 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8999 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
9000 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
9002 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
9003 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
9007 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
9010 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
9011 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
9013 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
9014 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
9015 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
9019 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
9022 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
9025 Here's the method for a public spool:
9029 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
9030 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
9033 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
9034 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
9035 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
9036 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
9037 should probably look something like this:
9041 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
9042 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
9043 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
9044 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
9045 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
9048 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
9049 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
9050 server that would look something like this:
9054 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
9055 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
9056 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
9057 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
9058 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
9059 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
9062 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
9063 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
9064 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
9065 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
9068 @node Creating a Virtual Server
9069 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
9071 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
9072 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
9074 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
9075 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
9076 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
9078 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
9080 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
9081 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
9082 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
9083 will contain the following:
9093 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
9094 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
9095 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
9098 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
9099 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
9100 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
9103 @node Server Variables
9104 @subsection Server Variables
9106 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
9107 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
9108 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
9109 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
9110 won't change the "derived" variables.
9112 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
9113 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
9114 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
9115 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
9116 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
9117 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
9118 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
9119 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
9120 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
9124 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
9125 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
9126 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
9130 @node Servers and Methods
9131 @subsection Servers and Methods
9133 Wherever you would normally use a select method
9134 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
9135 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
9136 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
9140 @node Unavailable Servers
9141 @subsection Unavailable Servers
9143 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
9144 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
9145 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
9146 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
9147 actually the case or not.
9149 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
9150 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
9151 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
9152 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
9153 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
9154 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
9155 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
9156 it will regard that server as ``down''.
9158 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
9159 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
9161 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
9162 with the following commands:
9168 @findex gnus-server-open-server
9169 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
9170 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
9174 @findex gnus-server-close-server
9175 Close the connection (if any) to the server
9176 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
9180 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
9181 Mark the current server as unreachable
9182 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
9185 @kindex M-o (Server)
9186 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
9187 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
9188 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
9191 @kindex M-c (Server)
9192 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
9193 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
9194 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
9198 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
9199 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
9200 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
9206 @section Getting News
9207 @cindex reading news
9208 @cindex news backends
9210 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
9211 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
9212 or it can read from a local spool.
9215 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
9216 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
9221 @subsection @sc{nntp}
9224 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
9225 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
9226 server as the, uhm, address.
9228 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
9229 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
9230 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
9231 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9233 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
9234 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
9235 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
9237 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
9242 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
9243 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
9244 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
9246 @cindex authentification
9247 @cindex nntp authentification
9248 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9249 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
9250 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
9251 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
9252 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
9253 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
9254 present in this hook.
9256 @item nntp-authinfo-function
9257 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
9258 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9259 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
9260 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
9261 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
9262 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
9263 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
9264 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
9265 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
9266 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
9267 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
9271 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
9274 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
9275 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
9276 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
9277 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
9278 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9283 Here's an example file:
9286 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9287 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9290 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9291 have to be first, for instance.
9293 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9294 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9295 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9296 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9297 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9298 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9299 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9301 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9302 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9308 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9309 previously mentioned.
9311 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9313 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9314 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9315 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9316 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9317 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9320 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9324 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9326 The default value is
9329 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9330 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9333 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9334 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9336 @item nntp-maximum-request
9337 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9338 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9339 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9340 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9341 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9342 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9343 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9345 @item nntp-connection-timeout
9346 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9347 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9348 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9349 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9350 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9351 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9352 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9353 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9354 no timeouts are done.
9356 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9357 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9358 @c @cindex PPP connections
9359 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9360 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9361 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9362 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9363 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9364 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9365 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9366 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9367 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9368 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9370 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9371 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9372 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9373 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9376 @item nntp-server-hook
9377 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9378 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9381 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9382 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9383 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9384 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9385 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9386 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9387 functions are supplied:
9390 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9391 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9394 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9395 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9396 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9399 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9403 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9404 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9405 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9406 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9408 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9409 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9410 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9412 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9413 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9414 User name on the remote system.
9418 @item nntp-open-telnet
9419 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9420 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9422 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9425 @item nntp-telnet-command
9426 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9427 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9429 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9430 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9431 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9433 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9434 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9435 User name for log in on the remote system.
9437 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9438 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9439 Password to use when logging in.
9441 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9442 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9443 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9446 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9447 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9448 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9449 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9451 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9452 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9453 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9454 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9455 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9459 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9460 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9461 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9462 you must have SSLay installed
9463 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9464 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9465 define a server as follows:
9468 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9470 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9472 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9473 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9474 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9475 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9480 @item nntp-end-of-line
9481 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9482 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9483 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9484 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9486 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9487 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9488 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9492 @vindex nntp-address
9493 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9495 @item nntp-port-number
9496 @vindex nntp-port-number
9497 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9500 @item nntp-buggy-select
9501 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9502 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9504 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9505 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9506 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9507 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9510 @item nntp-xover-commands
9511 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9514 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9515 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9519 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9520 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9521 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9522 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9523 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9524 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9525 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9526 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9527 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9528 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9529 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9531 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9532 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9533 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9535 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9536 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9537 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9538 server closes connection.
9540 @item nntp-record-commands
9541 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9542 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9543 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9544 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9545 that doesn't seem to work.
9551 @subsection News Spool
9555 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9556 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9557 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9560 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9561 anything else) as the address.
9563 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9564 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9565 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9566 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9570 @item nnspool-inews-program
9571 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9572 Program used to post an article.
9574 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9575 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9576 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9578 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9579 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9580 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9581 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9583 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9584 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9585 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9586 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9588 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9589 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9590 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9592 @item nnspool-active-file
9593 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9594 The path to the active file.
9596 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9597 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9598 The path to the group descriptions file.
9600 @item nnspool-history-file
9601 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9602 The path to the news history file.
9604 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9605 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9606 The path to the active date file.
9608 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9609 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9610 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9613 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9614 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9616 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9617 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9618 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9624 @section Getting Mail
9625 @cindex reading mail
9628 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9632 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9633 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9634 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9635 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9636 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9637 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9638 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9639 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9640 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9641 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9642 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9646 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9647 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9649 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9650 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9651 and things will happen automatically.
9653 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9654 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9657 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9658 '((nnml "private")))
9661 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9662 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9663 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9664 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9665 like any other group.
9667 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9670 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9671 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9672 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9676 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9677 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9678 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9681 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9682 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9683 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9686 @node Splitting Mail
9687 @subsection Splitting Mail
9688 @cindex splitting mail
9689 @cindex mail splitting
9691 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9692 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9693 to be split into groups.
9696 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9697 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9698 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9702 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9703 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9704 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9705 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9706 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9707 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9708 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9711 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9714 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9715 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9716 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9717 mail belongs in that group.
9719 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9720 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9721 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9722 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9723 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9724 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9726 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9727 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9728 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9729 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9730 thinks should carry this mail message.
9732 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9733 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9734 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9735 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9737 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9738 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9739 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9740 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9741 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9743 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9746 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9747 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9748 links. If that's the case for you, set
9749 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9750 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9752 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9753 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9754 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9755 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9757 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9758 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9759 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9760 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9761 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9762 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9763 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9764 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9768 @node Mail Backend Variables
9769 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9771 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9775 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9776 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9777 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9778 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9780 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9781 @item nnmail-spool-file
9785 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9786 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9787 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9788 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9789 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9790 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9791 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9792 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9793 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9794 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9795 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9796 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9797 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9798 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9799 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9801 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9803 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9804 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9807 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9808 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9809 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9810 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9811 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9812 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9814 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9815 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9816 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9817 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9818 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9819 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9820 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9823 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9824 @item nnmail-crash-box
9825 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9826 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9827 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9830 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9831 @item nnmail-split-hook
9832 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
9833 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9834 @findex RFC2047 decoding
9835 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9836 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9837 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9838 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9839 in the buffer will show up in any files.
9840 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
9843 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9844 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9845 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9846 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9847 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9848 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9849 starting to handle the new mail) and
9850 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9851 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9852 default file modes the new mail files get:
9855 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9856 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9858 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9859 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9862 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9863 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9864 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9865 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9866 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9867 it will be used instead.
9869 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9870 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9871 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9872 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9874 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9875 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9878 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9879 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9880 @cindex incoming mail files
9881 @cindex deleting incoming files
9882 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9883 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9886 @c This is @code{nil} by
9887 @c default for reasons of security.
9889 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9890 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9891 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9892 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9893 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9896 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9898 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9899 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9900 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9901 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9902 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9903 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9904 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9906 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9907 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9909 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9911 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9912 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9913 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9914 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9915 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9920 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9921 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9922 @cindex mail splitting
9923 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9925 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9926 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9927 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9928 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9929 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9930 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9932 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9935 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9936 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9937 ;; from real errors.
9938 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9940 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9941 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9942 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9943 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9944 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9945 ;; Other mailing lists...
9946 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9947 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9949 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9950 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9954 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9955 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9956 the five possible split syntaxes:
9961 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9962 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9966 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9967 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9968 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9971 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9972 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9973 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9974 be stored in one or more groups.
9977 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9978 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9981 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9982 this message. Use with extreme caution.
9985 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9986 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9987 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9991 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
9995 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9996 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9997 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9998 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9999 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
10001 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
10002 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
10003 are expanded as specified by the variable
10004 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
10005 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
10008 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
10009 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
10010 when all this splitting is performed.
10012 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
10013 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
10014 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
10017 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
10020 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
10021 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
10022 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
10023 groupings 1 through 9.
10026 @node Mail and Procmail
10027 @subsection Mail and Procmail
10032 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
10033 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
10034 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
10035 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
10036 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
10038 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
10039 something like the following:
10041 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
10043 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
10044 (setq nnmail-spool-file
10045 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
10048 This also means that you probably don't want to set
10049 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
10052 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
10053 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
10054 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
10055 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
10056 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
10057 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
10059 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
10062 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
10064 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
10065 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
10067 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
10068 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
10069 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
10070 to include all your mail groups.
10072 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
10073 method will be created automatically.
10075 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
10076 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
10077 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
10078 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
10079 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
10080 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
10081 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
10082 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
10084 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
10085 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
10086 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
10087 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
10088 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
10090 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10091 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
10092 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
10093 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
10094 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
10095 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
10097 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
10098 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
10099 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
10100 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
10101 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
10104 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
10105 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
10106 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
10107 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
10108 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
10112 @node Incorporating Old Mail
10113 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
10115 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
10116 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
10117 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
10120 Doing so can be quite easy.
10122 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
10123 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
10124 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
10125 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
10126 your @code{nnml} groups.
10132 Go to the group buffer.
10135 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
10136 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10139 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
10142 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
10143 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
10146 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
10147 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
10150 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
10151 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
10152 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
10153 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
10154 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
10156 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
10157 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
10158 using the new mail backend.
10161 @node Expiring Mail
10162 @subsection Expiring Mail
10163 @cindex article expiry
10165 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
10166 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
10167 different approach to mail reading.
10169 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
10170 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
10171 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
10172 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
10173 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
10174 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
10177 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
10178 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
10179 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
10180 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
10181 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
10182 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
10183 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
10184 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
10186 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10187 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
10188 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
10189 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
10190 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
10191 column in the summary buffer.
10193 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
10194 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
10195 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
10196 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
10199 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
10201 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
10202 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
10203 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
10206 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
10207 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
10208 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
10209 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
10210 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
10212 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
10213 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
10216 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10217 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
10220 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
10221 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
10223 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
10224 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
10225 don't really mix very well.
10227 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
10228 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
10229 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
10230 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
10233 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
10234 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
10235 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
10236 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
10239 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10241 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10243 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
10245 ((string= group "mail.junk")
10247 ((string= group "important")
10253 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
10254 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
10256 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
10257 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
10258 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
10261 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
10262 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10264 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10265 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
10266 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
10267 easier for procmail users.
10269 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
10270 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
10271 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
10272 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
10273 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
10274 caution. Even more dangerous is the
10275 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
10276 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
10277 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
10278 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
10279 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
10280 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
10281 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
10284 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
10286 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
10287 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
10288 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
10289 auto-expire turned on.
10293 @subsection Washing Mail
10294 @cindex mail washing
10295 @cindex list server brain damage
10296 @cindex incoming mail treatment
10298 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
10299 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
10300 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10301 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10302 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10303 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10305 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10306 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10307 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10310 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10311 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10312 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10313 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10316 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10317 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10318 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10319 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
10320 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
10323 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10324 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10325 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10326 Emacs running on MS machines.
10330 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10331 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10332 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10333 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10336 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10337 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10338 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10339 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10341 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10342 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10343 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10344 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10345 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10346 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10347 also be a list of regexp.
10349 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10350 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10353 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10354 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10357 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10358 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10359 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10363 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10364 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10365 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10369 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10370 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10371 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10378 @subsection Duplicates
10380 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10381 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10382 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10383 @cindex duplicate mails
10384 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10385 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10386 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10387 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10388 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10389 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10390 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10391 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10392 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10393 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10394 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10395 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10396 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10398 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10399 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10400 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10401 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10403 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10406 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10407 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10411 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10412 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10413 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10414 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10415 (any mail "mail.misc")
10422 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10423 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10428 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10429 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10430 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10431 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10432 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10435 @node Not Reading Mail
10436 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10438 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10439 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10440 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10442 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10443 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10445 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10446 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10447 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10448 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10449 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10450 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10451 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10452 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10453 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10454 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10455 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10457 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10458 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10462 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10463 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10465 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10466 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10467 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10470 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10471 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10472 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10473 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10474 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10478 @node Unix Mail Box
10479 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10481 @cindex unix mail box
10483 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10484 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10485 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10486 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10487 which group it belongs in.
10489 Virtual server settings:
10492 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10493 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10494 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10496 @item nnmbox-active-file
10497 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10498 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10500 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10501 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10502 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10508 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10512 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10513 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10514 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10515 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10516 article to say which group it belongs in.
10518 Virtual server settings:
10521 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10522 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10523 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10525 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10526 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10527 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10529 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10530 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10531 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10536 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10538 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10540 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10541 format. It should be used with some caution.
10543 @vindex nnml-directory
10544 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10545 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10546 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10547 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10549 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10552 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10553 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10554 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10555 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10556 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10557 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10558 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10559 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10561 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10562 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10563 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10564 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10566 Virtual server settings:
10569 @item nnml-directory
10570 @vindex nnml-directory
10571 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10573 @item nnml-active-file
10574 @vindex nnml-active-file
10575 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10577 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10578 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10579 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10582 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10583 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10584 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10586 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10587 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10588 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10590 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10591 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10592 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10594 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10595 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10596 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10600 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10601 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10602 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10603 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10604 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10605 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10606 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10611 @subsubsection MH Spool
10613 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10615 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10616 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10617 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10618 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10620 Virtual server settings:
10623 @item nnmh-directory
10624 @vindex nnmh-directory
10625 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10627 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10628 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10629 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10632 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10633 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10634 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10635 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10636 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10637 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10638 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10643 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10645 @cindex mbox folders
10646 @cindex mail folders
10648 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10649 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10650 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10653 Virtual server settings:
10656 @item nnfolder-directory
10657 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10658 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10660 @item nnfolder-active-file
10661 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10662 The name of the active file.
10664 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10665 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10666 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10668 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10669 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10670 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10672 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10673 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10674 @cindex backup files
10675 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
10676 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
10677 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
10678 your @file{.emacs} file:
10681 (defun turn-off-backup ()
10682 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
10684 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
10687 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10688 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10689 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
10690 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
10691 extract some information from it before removing it.
10696 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10697 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10698 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10699 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10700 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10701 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10704 @node Other Sources
10705 @section Other Sources
10707 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10708 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10712 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10713 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10714 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10715 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10716 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10717 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10721 @node Directory Groups
10722 @subsection Directory Groups
10724 @cindex directory groups
10726 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10727 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10730 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10731 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10732 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10733 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10735 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10736 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10737 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10738 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10739 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10741 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10743 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10744 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10745 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10746 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10749 @node Anything Groups
10750 @subsection Anything Groups
10753 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10754 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10755 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10758 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10759 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10760 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10761 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10762 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10763 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10764 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10765 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10766 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10767 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10770 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10771 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10772 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10773 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10775 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10776 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10777 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10778 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10780 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10781 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10782 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10783 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10784 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10785 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10786 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10787 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10792 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10793 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10794 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10795 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10797 @item nneething-exclude-files
10798 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10799 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10800 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10802 @item nneething-include-files
10803 @vindex nneething-include-files
10804 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
10805 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
10807 @item nneething-map-file
10808 @vindex nneething-map-file
10809 Name of the map files.
10813 @node Document Groups
10814 @subsection Document Groups
10816 @cindex documentation group
10819 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10820 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10827 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10832 The standard Unix mbox file.
10834 @cindex MMDF mail box
10836 The MMDF mail box format.
10839 Several news articles appended into a file.
10842 @cindex rnews batch files
10843 The rnews batch transport format.
10844 @cindex forwarded messages
10847 Forwarded articles.
10850 MIME multipart messages, besides digests.
10854 @cindex MIME digest
10855 @cindex 1153 digest
10856 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10857 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10858 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10860 @item standard-digest
10861 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10864 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10867 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10868 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10869 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10872 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10873 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10874 group. And that's it.
10876 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10877 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10878 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10879 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10880 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10881 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10882 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10883 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10884 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10885 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10887 Virtual server variables:
10890 @item nndoc-article-type
10891 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10892 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10893 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10894 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{mime-digest},
10895 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or
10898 @item nndoc-post-type
10899 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10900 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10901 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10906 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10910 @node Document Server Internals
10911 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10913 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10914 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10915 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10916 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10918 First, here's an example document type definition:
10922 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10923 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10926 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10927 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10928 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10929 types can be defined with very few settings:
10932 @item first-article
10933 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10934 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10937 @item article-begin
10938 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10939 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10941 @item head-begin-function
10942 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10945 @item nndoc-head-begin
10946 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10949 @item nndoc-head-end
10950 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10951 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10953 @item body-begin-function
10954 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10958 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10961 @item body-end-function
10962 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10966 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10969 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10970 regexp will be totally ignored.
10974 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10975 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10976 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10977 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10978 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10981 @item prepare-body-function
10982 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10983 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10984 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10986 @item article-transform-function
10987 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10988 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10989 body of the article.
10991 @item generate-head-function
10992 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10993 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10994 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10995 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10999 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
11004 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
11005 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
11006 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
11007 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
11008 (head-end . "^ ?$")
11009 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
11010 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
11011 (subtype digest guess))
11014 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
11015 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
11016 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
11017 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
11018 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
11020 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
11021 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
11022 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
11023 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
11024 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
11025 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
11026 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
11027 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
11028 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
11029 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
11037 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
11038 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
11039 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
11041 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
11042 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
11043 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
11046 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
11047 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
11048 that interested in doing things properly.
11050 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
11051 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
11054 First some terminology:
11059 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
11060 get news and/or mail from.
11063 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
11064 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
11067 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
11071 @item message packets
11072 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
11073 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
11074 default, where @var{X} is a number.
11076 @item response packets
11077 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
11078 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
11079 default, where @var{X} is a number.
11089 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
11090 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
11091 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
11092 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
11095 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
11098 You put the packet in your home directory.
11101 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
11102 the native or secondary server.
11105 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
11106 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
11109 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
11113 You transfer this packet to the server.
11116 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
11119 You then repeat until you die.
11123 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
11124 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
11127 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
11128 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
11129 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
11133 @node SOUP Commands
11134 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
11136 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
11140 @kindex G s b (Group)
11141 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
11142 Pack all unread articles in the current group
11143 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
11144 process/prefix convention.
11147 @kindex G s w (Group)
11148 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
11149 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
11152 @kindex G s s (Group)
11153 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
11154 Send all replies from the replies packet
11155 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
11158 @kindex G s p (Group)
11159 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
11160 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
11163 @kindex G s r (Group)
11164 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
11165 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
11168 @kindex O s (Summary)
11169 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
11170 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
11171 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
11172 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11177 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
11182 @item gnus-soup-directory
11183 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
11184 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
11185 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
11187 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
11188 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
11189 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
11190 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
11192 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
11193 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
11194 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
11195 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
11197 @item gnus-soup-packer
11198 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
11199 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11200 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
11202 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
11203 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
11204 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11205 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11207 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
11208 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
11209 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
11211 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11212 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11213 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
11214 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
11220 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
11223 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
11224 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
11225 you can read them at leisure.
11227 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
11231 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
11232 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
11233 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
11234 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
11236 @item nnsoup-directory
11237 @vindex nnsoup-directory
11238 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
11239 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
11241 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
11242 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
11243 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
11244 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
11246 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
11247 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
11248 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
11249 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
11250 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
11252 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
11253 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
11254 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
11255 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
11257 @item nnsoup-active-file
11258 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
11259 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
11260 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
11261 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
11262 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
11264 @item nnsoup-packer
11265 @vindex nnsoup-packer
11266 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
11267 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
11269 @item nnsoup-unpacker
11270 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
11271 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
11272 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11274 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
11275 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
11276 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
11279 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
11280 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
11281 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
11284 @item nnsoup-always-save
11285 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
11286 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
11292 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
11294 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
11295 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
11296 more for that to happen.
11298 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
11299 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
11300 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
11303 In specific, this is what it does:
11306 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
11307 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
11310 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
11311 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
11312 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
11316 @subsection Web Searches
11320 @cindex InReference
11321 @cindex Usenet searches
11322 @cindex searching the Usenet
11324 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
11325 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
11326 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
11327 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
11328 searches without having to use a browser.
11330 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11331 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11332 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11333 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11334 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11336 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11337 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11338 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11339 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11340 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11341 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11342 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11343 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11344 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11345 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11348 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11349 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11350 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'
\e,Aj
\e(Btre} is to
11351 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11352 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11353 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11355 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11356 to use @code{nnweb}.
11358 Virtual server variables:
11363 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11364 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11368 @vindex nnweb-search
11369 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11371 @item nnweb-max-hits
11372 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11373 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11376 @item nnweb-type-definition
11377 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11378 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11379 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11384 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11388 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11391 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11394 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11398 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11405 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11406 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11407 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11410 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11411 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11412 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11414 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11420 @item nngateway-address
11421 @vindex nngateway-address
11422 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11424 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11425 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11426 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11427 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11428 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11429 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11430 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11433 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11434 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11435 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11438 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11441 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11444 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11447 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11449 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11452 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11453 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11454 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11456 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11458 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11459 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11460 @code{nngateway-address}.
11465 (setq gnus-post-method
11466 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11467 (nngateway-header-transformation
11468 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11476 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11479 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11483 @node Combined Groups
11484 @section Combined Groups
11486 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11490 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11491 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11495 @node Virtual Groups
11496 @subsection Virtual Groups
11498 @cindex virtual groups
11499 @cindex merging groups
11501 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11504 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11505 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11506 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11508 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11509 regexp to match component groups.
11511 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11512 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11513 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11514 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11515 the virtual group.)
11517 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11518 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11521 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11524 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11525 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11527 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11528 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11529 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11530 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11533 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11536 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11537 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11538 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11540 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11541 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11542 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11543 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11544 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11546 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11547 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11548 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11550 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11551 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11552 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11553 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11554 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11555 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11556 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11557 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11558 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11559 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11560 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11562 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
11563 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
11564 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
11565 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
11566 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
11567 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
11568 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
11570 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
11571 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
11575 @node Kibozed Groups
11576 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11580 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11581 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11582 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11583 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11585 @kindex G k (Group)
11586 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11589 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11590 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11591 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11592 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11594 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11595 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11596 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11598 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11599 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11600 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11601 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11602 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11603 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11604 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11605 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11607 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11608 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11609 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11610 Stranger things have happened.
11612 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11613 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11615 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11616 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11617 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11618 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11619 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11620 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11622 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11623 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11626 @node Gnus Unplugged
11627 @section Gnus Unplugged
11632 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11634 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11635 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11636 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11637 read news. Believe it or not.
11639 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11640 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11641 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11642 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11643 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11645 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11646 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11647 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11648 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11649 reading news on a machine.
11651 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11655 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11656 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11660 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11661 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11668 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11670 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11673 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11674 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11675 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11676 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11677 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11678 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11679 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11680 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11681 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
11686 @subsection Agent Basics
11688 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11690 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11691 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11692 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11693 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11695 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11696 connected to the net continuously.
11698 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11699 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11701 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11706 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11707 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11708 already fetched while in this mode.
11711 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11712 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11713 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11716 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11717 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11718 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11719 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11722 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11723 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11724 then you read the news offline.
11727 And then you go to step 2.
11730 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11736 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11737 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11738 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11739 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11740 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11741 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11744 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
11751 @node Agent Categories
11752 @subsection Agent Categories
11754 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11755 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11756 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11757 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11758 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11759 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11760 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11762 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11763 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11764 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11767 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11768 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11769 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11773 @node Category Syntax
11774 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11776 A category consists of two things.
11780 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11781 are eligible for downloading; and
11784 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11785 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11786 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
11789 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
11790 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
11791 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
11792 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
11794 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
11795 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
11796 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
11798 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
11799 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
11800 operators sprinkled in between.
11802 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11804 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11805 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11811 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11812 short (for some value of ``short'').
11814 Here's a more complex predicate:
11823 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11824 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11827 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11828 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11829 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11831 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11832 you want to do, you can write your own.
11836 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11837 lines; default 100.
11840 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11841 lines; default 200.
11844 True iff the article has a download score less than
11845 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11848 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11849 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11852 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11853 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11854 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11863 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11864 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11865 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11868 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
11869 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
11870 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
11871 something along the lines of the following:
11874 (defun my-article-old-p ()
11875 "Say whether an article is old."
11876 (< (time-to-day (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
11877 (- (time-to-day (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
11880 with the predicate then defined as:
11883 (not my-article-old-p)
11886 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
11887 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
11888 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
11889 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
11892 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
11893 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
11894 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
11897 and simply specify your predicate as:
11903 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
11904 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
11905 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
11906 just don't give a damm.
11909 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
11910 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
11911 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
11912 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
11913 parameters like so:
11916 (agent-predicate . short)
11919 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category
11920 default. Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this,
11921 the @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair
11924 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
11927 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
11930 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
11931 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
11932 predicate is assumed to be a list.
11935 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11936 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11937 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11938 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
11939 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
11940 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
11942 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
11943 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
11944 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
11945 if it's to be specific to that group.
11947 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
11954 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
11955 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
11961 Category specification
11965 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11971 Group Parameter specification
11974 (agent-score ("from"
11975 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11980 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
11986 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
11993 Category specification
11996 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
12002 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
12006 Group Parameter specification
12009 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
12012 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
12017 Use @code{normal} score files
12019 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
12020 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
12021 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
12022 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
12024 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
12025 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
12026 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
12027 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
12031 Category Specification
12038 Group Parameter specification
12041 (agent-score . file)
12046 @node The Category Buffer
12047 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
12049 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
12050 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
12051 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
12053 The following commands are available in this buffer:
12057 @kindex q (Category)
12058 @findex gnus-category-exit
12059 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
12062 @kindex k (Category)
12063 @findex gnus-category-kill
12064 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
12067 @kindex c (Category)
12068 @findex gnus-category-copy
12069 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
12072 @kindex a (Category)
12073 @findex gnus-category-add
12074 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
12077 @kindex p (Category)
12078 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
12079 Edit the predicate of the current category
12080 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
12083 @kindex g (Category)
12084 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
12085 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
12086 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
12089 @kindex s (Category)
12090 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
12091 Edit the download score rule of the current category
12092 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
12095 @kindex l (Category)
12096 @findex gnus-category-list
12097 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
12101 @node Category Variables
12102 @subsubsection Category Variables
12105 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
12106 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
12107 Hook run in category buffers.
12109 @item gnus-category-line-format
12110 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
12111 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
12112 Variables}). Valid elements are:
12116 The name of the category.
12119 The number of groups in the category.
12122 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
12123 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
12124 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
12126 @item gnus-agent-short-article
12127 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
12128 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
12130 @item gnus-agent-long-article
12131 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
12132 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
12134 @item gnus-agent-low-score
12135 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
12136 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
12139 @item gnus-agent-high-score
12140 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
12141 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
12147 @node Agent Commands
12148 @subsection Agent Commands
12150 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
12151 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
12152 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
12156 * Group Agent Commands::
12157 * Summary Agent Commands::
12158 * Server Agent Commands::
12161 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
12162 following incantation:
12164 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12166 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12171 @node Group Agent Commands
12172 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
12176 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
12177 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
12178 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
12179 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
12182 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
12183 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
12184 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
12187 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
12188 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
12189 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
12190 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
12193 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
12194 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
12195 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
12196 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}.
12199 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
12200 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
12201 Add the current group to an Agent category
12202 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
12207 @node Summary Agent Commands
12208 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
12212 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
12213 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
12214 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
12217 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
12218 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
12219 Remove the downloading mark from the article
12220 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
12223 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
12224 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
12225 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
12228 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
12229 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
12230 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
12235 @node Server Agent Commands
12236 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
12240 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
12241 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
12242 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
12243 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
12246 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
12247 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
12248 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
12249 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
12255 @subsection Agent Expiry
12257 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
12258 @findex gnus-agent-expire
12259 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
12260 @cindex Agent expiry
12261 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
12264 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
12265 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
12266 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
12267 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
12268 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
12269 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
12271 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
12272 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
12273 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
12274 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
12275 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
12278 @node Outgoing Messages
12279 @subsection Outgoing Messages
12281 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
12282 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
12283 after posting, and edit them at will.
12285 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
12286 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
12287 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
12288 messages in the draft group.
12292 @node Agent Variables
12293 @subsection Agent Variables
12296 @item gnus-agent-directory
12297 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
12298 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
12299 @file{~/News/agent/}.
12301 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
12302 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
12303 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
12304 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
12305 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
12308 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12309 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12310 Hook run when connecting to the network.
12312 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12313 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12314 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
12319 @node Example Setup
12320 @subsection Example Setup
12322 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
12323 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
12324 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
12327 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
12328 ;;; from your ISP's server.
12329 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
12331 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
12332 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
12333 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
12334 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
12336 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
12337 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12339 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
12343 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
12344 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
12347 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
12348 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
12349 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
12350 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
12351 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
12354 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
12355 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
12356 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
12357 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
12358 back all the killed groups.)
12360 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
12361 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
12362 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
12365 @node Batching Agents
12366 @subsection Batching Agents
12368 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
12369 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
12370 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
12374 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
12378 @node Agent Caveats
12379 @subsection Agent Caveats
12381 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
12382 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
12386 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
12391 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
12392 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
12398 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
12399 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
12406 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
12407 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
12408 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
12411 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
12412 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
12413 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
12414 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
12415 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
12417 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
12418 before generating the summary buffer.
12420 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
12421 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
12422 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
12424 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
12425 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
12426 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
12427 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
12430 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
12431 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
12432 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
12433 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
12434 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
12435 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
12436 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
12437 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
12438 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
12439 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
12440 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
12441 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
12442 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
12443 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
12444 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
12445 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
12449 @node Summary Score Commands
12450 @section Summary Score Commands
12451 @cindex score commands
12453 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
12454 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
12455 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
12456 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
12457 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
12459 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
12460 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
12461 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
12462 score file the current one.
12464 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
12469 @kindex V s (Summary)
12470 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
12471 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
12474 @kindex V S (Summary)
12475 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
12476 Display the score of the current article
12477 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
12480 @kindex V t (Summary)
12481 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
12482 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
12483 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
12486 @kindex V R (Summary)
12487 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
12488 Run the current summary through the scoring process
12489 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
12490 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
12491 effect you're having.
12494 @kindex V c (Summary)
12495 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
12496 Make a different score file the current
12497 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
12500 @kindex V e (Summary)
12501 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
12502 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
12503 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
12507 @kindex V f (Summary)
12508 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
12509 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
12510 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
12513 @kindex V F (Summary)
12514 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12515 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
12516 after editing score files.
12519 @kindex V C (Summary)
12520 @findex gnus-score-customize
12521 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
12522 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
12526 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
12531 @kindex V m (Summary)
12532 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
12533 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
12534 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
12537 @kindex V x (Summary)
12538 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
12539 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
12540 expunge all articles below this score
12541 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
12544 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
12545 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
12548 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
12549 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
12553 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
12554 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
12556 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
12557 keys are available:
12561 Score on the author name.
12564 Score on the subject line.
12567 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
12570 Score on the References line.
12576 Score on the number of lines.
12579 Score on the Message-ID.
12582 Score on followups.
12596 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12597 what headers you are scoring on.
12609 Substring matching.
12612 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12641 Greater than number.
12646 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12647 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12648 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12652 Temporary score entry.
12655 Permanent score entry.
12658 Immediately scoring.
12663 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12664 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12665 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12666 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12668 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12669 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12670 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12671 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12672 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12674 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12675 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12676 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12677 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12678 current score file.
12680 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12681 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12682 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12685 @node Group Score Commands
12686 @section Group Score Commands
12687 @cindex group score commands
12689 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12694 @kindex W f (Group)
12695 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12696 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12697 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12698 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12702 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12704 @findex gnus-batch-score
12705 @cindex batch scoring
12707 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
12711 @node Score Variables
12712 @section Score Variables
12713 @cindex score variables
12717 @item gnus-use-scoring
12718 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12719 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12720 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12722 @item gnus-kill-killed
12723 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12724 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12725 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12726 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12727 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12728 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12729 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12731 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12732 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12733 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12734 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12735 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12737 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12738 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12739 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12740 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12742 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12743 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12744 @cindex score cache
12745 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12746 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12747 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
12748 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12749 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12750 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12753 @item gnus-save-score
12754 @vindex gnus-save-score
12755 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12756 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12757 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12759 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12760 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12761 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12762 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12763 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12764 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12765 manually entered data.
12767 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12768 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12769 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12771 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12772 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12773 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12774 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12775 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12776 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12778 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12779 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12780 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12781 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12783 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12784 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12785 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12786 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12788 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12789 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12790 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12791 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12793 Predefined functions available are:
12796 @item gnus-score-find-single
12797 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12798 Only apply the group's own score file.
12800 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12801 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12802 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12803 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12804 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12805 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12806 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12807 then a regexp match is done.
12809 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12810 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12812 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12813 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12814 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12815 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12817 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12818 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12819 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12820 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12821 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12824 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12825 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12826 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12827 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12828 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12829 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12832 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12833 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12834 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12835 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12836 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12838 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12839 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12840 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12841 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12842 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12843 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12844 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12847 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12848 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12849 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12851 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12852 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12853 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12854 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12855 threading---according to the current value of
12856 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12857 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12858 simplified in this manner.
12863 @node Score File Format
12864 @section Score File Format
12865 @cindex score file format
12867 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12868 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12869 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12871 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12875 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12877 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12879 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12881 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12886 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12890 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12891 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12892 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12893 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12897 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12898 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12900 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12901 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12902 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12904 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12909 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12910 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12911 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12912 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12913 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12914 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12915 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12916 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12917 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12918 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12919 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12920 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12921 to articles that matches these score entries.
12923 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12924 score entry has one to four elements.
12928 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12929 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12933 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12934 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12935 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12936 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12937 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12938 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12941 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12942 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12943 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12944 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12945 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12948 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12949 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12950 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12951 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12954 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12955 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12956 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12957 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12958 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12959 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12960 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12961 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12962 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12963 instead, if you feel like.
12966 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12967 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12969 These predicates are true if
12972 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12975 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12976 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12983 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12984 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12985 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12986 it's not. I think.)
12988 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12989 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12990 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12991 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12994 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12995 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12996 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12997 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12998 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12999 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
13000 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
13004 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
13005 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
13006 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
13007 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
13008 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
13009 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
13010 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
13011 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
13014 @item Head, Body, All
13015 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
13019 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
13020 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
13021 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
13022 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
13023 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
13024 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
13025 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
13029 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
13030 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
13031 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
13032 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
13033 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
13034 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
13035 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
13036 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
13037 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
13038 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
13042 @cindex Score File Atoms
13044 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
13045 lower than this number will be marked as read.
13048 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
13049 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
13051 @item mark-and-expunge
13052 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
13053 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
13056 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
13057 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
13058 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
13059 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
13060 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
13063 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
13064 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
13067 @item exclude-files
13068 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
13069 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
13073 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
13074 ignored when handling global score files.
13077 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
13078 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
13079 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
13080 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
13083 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
13084 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
13085 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
13086 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
13088 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
13092 (mark-and-expunge -100)
13095 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
13096 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
13097 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
13098 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
13099 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
13101 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
13102 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
13103 ordinary scoring rules.
13106 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
13107 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
13108 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
13109 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
13110 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
13111 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
13112 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13113 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
13114 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
13115 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
13116 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
13120 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
13121 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
13122 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
13123 file for a number of groups.
13126 @cindex local variables
13127 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
13128 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
13129 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
13130 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
13131 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
13135 @node Score File Editing
13136 @section Score File Editing
13138 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
13139 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
13140 with a mode for that.
13142 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
13143 additional commands:
13148 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
13149 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
13150 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
13151 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
13154 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
13155 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
13156 Insert the current date in numerical format
13157 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
13158 you were wondering.
13161 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
13162 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
13163 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
13164 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
13165 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
13170 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
13172 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
13173 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
13175 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
13176 e} to begin editing score files.
13179 @node Adaptive Scoring
13180 @section Adaptive Scoring
13181 @cindex adaptive scoring
13183 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
13184 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
13185 stupidity, to be precise.
13187 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
13188 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
13189 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
13190 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
13191 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13192 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
13193 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
13194 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
13195 variable to @code{(word line)}.
13197 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13198 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
13199 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
13200 might look something like this:
13203 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13204 '((gnus-unread-mark)
13205 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
13206 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
13207 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
13208 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
13209 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
13210 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
13211 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
13212 (gnus-ancient-mark)
13213 (gnus-low-score-mark)
13214 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
13217 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
13218 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
13219 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
13220 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
13221 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
13222 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
13225 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
13226 will be applied to each article.
13228 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
13229 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
13230 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
13231 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
13233 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
13234 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
13235 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
13236 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
13238 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
13239 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
13240 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
13241 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
13243 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
13244 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
13245 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
13246 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
13247 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
13248 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
13250 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
13251 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
13252 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
13253 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
13254 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
13255 aspirins afterwards.)
13257 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
13258 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
13259 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
13261 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
13262 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
13263 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
13265 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
13266 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
13267 let you use different rules in different groups.
13269 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
13270 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
13271 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
13274 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
13275 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
13276 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
13277 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
13278 the length of the match is less than
13279 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
13280 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
13283 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13284 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
13285 headers. If you adapt on words, the
13286 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
13287 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
13290 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13291 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
13292 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
13293 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
13294 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
13297 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
13298 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
13299 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
13300 score with 30 points.
13302 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
13303 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
13304 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
13305 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
13306 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
13308 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
13309 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
13310 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
13311 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
13313 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
13314 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
13315 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
13316 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
13318 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
13319 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
13320 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
13321 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
13322 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
13324 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
13325 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
13326 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
13328 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
13329 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
13330 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
13331 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
13334 @node Home Score File
13335 @section Home Score File
13337 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
13338 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
13339 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
13340 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
13342 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
13343 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
13344 could perhaps use the same home score file.
13346 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
13347 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
13352 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
13356 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
13357 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
13361 A list. The elements in this list can be:
13365 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
13366 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
13369 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
13370 the home score file.
13373 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
13376 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
13381 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
13384 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13385 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
13388 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
13389 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
13391 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
13393 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13394 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
13397 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
13398 Other functions include
13401 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
13402 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
13403 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
13404 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
13408 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
13409 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
13410 their own home score files:
13413 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13414 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
13415 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
13416 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
13417 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
13420 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
13421 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
13422 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
13423 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
13424 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
13426 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
13427 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
13428 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
13429 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
13430 precedence over this variable.
13433 @node Followups To Yourself
13434 @section Followups To Yourself
13436 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
13437 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
13438 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
13439 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
13440 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
13441 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
13445 @item gnus-score-followup-article
13446 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
13447 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
13450 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
13451 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
13452 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
13456 @vindex message-sent-hook
13457 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
13458 @code{message-sent-hook}.
13460 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
13461 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
13465 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13466 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13469 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
13470 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
13475 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
13479 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
13480 is system-dependent.
13484 @section Scoring Tips
13485 @cindex scoring tips
13491 @cindex scoring crossposts
13492 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
13493 the @code{Xref} header.
13495 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
13498 @item Multiple crossposts
13499 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
13500 more than, say, 3 groups:
13502 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
13505 @item Matching on the body
13506 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
13507 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
13508 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
13509 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
13510 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
13511 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
13512 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
13515 @item Marking as read
13516 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
13517 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
13518 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
13522 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
13524 @item Negated character classes
13525 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
13526 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
13527 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
13531 @node Reverse Scoring
13532 @section Reverse Scoring
13533 @cindex reverse scoring
13535 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
13536 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
13537 like this in your score file:
13541 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
13546 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
13547 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
13550 @node Global Score Files
13551 @section Global Score Files
13552 @cindex global score files
13554 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
13555 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
13556 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
13558 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
13559 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
13560 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
13562 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
13563 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
13564 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
13565 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
13566 files are applicable to which group.
13568 Say you want to use the score file
13569 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
13570 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
13573 (setq gnus-global-score-files
13574 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
13575 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
13578 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
13579 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
13580 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
13581 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
13582 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
13584 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
13585 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
13587 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
13588 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
13589 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
13590 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
13591 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
13592 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
13594 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
13600 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
13602 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
13604 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
13606 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
13607 lowered out of existence.
13609 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
13610 articles completely.
13613 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13614 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13615 old articles for a long time.
13618 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13619 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13620 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13621 holding our breath yet?
13625 @section Kill Files
13628 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13629 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13630 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13632 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13633 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13634 files into score files.
13636 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13637 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13638 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13639 that isn't a very good idea.
13641 Normal kill files look like this:
13644 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13645 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13649 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13650 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13652 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13653 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13656 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13661 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13662 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13663 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13666 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13667 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13668 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13671 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13676 @kindex M-k (Group)
13677 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13678 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13681 @kindex M-K (Group)
13682 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13683 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13686 Kill file variables:
13689 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13690 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13691 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13692 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13693 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13694 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13695 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13697 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13698 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13699 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13700 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13703 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13704 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13705 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13706 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13707 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13708 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13709 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13710 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13711 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13713 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13714 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13715 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13720 @node Converting Kill Files
13721 @section Converting Kill Files
13723 @cindex converting kill files
13725 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13726 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13727 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13730 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13731 You can fetch it from
13732 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13734 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13735 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13736 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13744 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13745 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13746 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13748 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13749 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13750 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13751 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13752 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13753 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13754 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13755 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13759 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13760 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13761 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13762 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13766 @node Using GroupLens
13767 @subsection Using GroupLens
13769 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13771 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13772 better bit in town at the moment.
13774 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13778 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13779 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13780 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13781 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13783 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13784 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13785 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13786 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13788 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13789 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13790 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13794 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13795 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13796 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13797 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13798 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13799 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13802 @node Rating Articles
13803 @subsection Rating Articles
13805 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13806 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13807 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13808 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13811 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13816 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13817 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13818 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13821 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13822 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13823 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13824 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13825 threads in rec.humor.
13829 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13830 the score of the article you're reading.
13835 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13836 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13837 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13840 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13841 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13842 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13846 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13847 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13850 @node Displaying Predictions
13851 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13853 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13854 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13855 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13856 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13857 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13859 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13860 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13861 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13862 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13863 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13864 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13865 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13866 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13867 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13868 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13869 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13870 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13871 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13873 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13874 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13875 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13876 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13878 The following are valid values for that variable.
13881 @item prediction-spot
13882 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13885 @item confidence-interval
13886 A numeric confidence interval.
13888 @item prediction-bar
13889 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13891 @item confidence-bar
13892 Numerical confidence.
13894 @item confidence-spot
13895 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13897 @item prediction-num
13898 Plain-old numeric value.
13900 @item confidence-plus-minus
13901 Prediction +/- confidence.
13906 @node GroupLens Variables
13907 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13911 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13912 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13913 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13914 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13917 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13918 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13921 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13922 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13924 @item grouplens-score-offset
13925 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13926 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13929 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13930 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13931 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13936 @node Advanced Scoring
13937 @section Advanced Scoring
13939 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13940 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13941 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13942 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13943 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13945 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13949 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13950 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13951 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13955 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13956 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13958 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13959 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13960 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13961 non-@code{nil} value.
13963 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13964 operator, and various match operators.
13971 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13972 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13973 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13978 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13979 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13980 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13985 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13986 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13990 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13991 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13992 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13993 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13994 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13995 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13996 the ancestry you want to go.
13998 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13999 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
14000 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
14001 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
14002 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
14005 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
14006 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
14008 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
14009 when he's talking about Gnus:
14013 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14014 ("subject" "Gnus"))
14020 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
14024 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14031 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
14032 really don't want to read what he's written:
14036 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14037 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
14041 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
14042 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
14043 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
14050 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
14051 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
14052 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
14053 ("body" "white.*socks"))
14057 The possibilities are endless.
14060 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
14061 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
14063 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
14064 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
14065 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
14066 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
14067 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
14068 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
14069 @samp{subject}) first.
14071 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
14072 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
14083 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
14084 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
14090 ("subject" "Gnus")))
14097 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
14098 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
14103 @section Score Decays
14104 @cindex score decays
14107 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
14108 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
14109 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
14110 use them in any sensible way.
14112 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
14113 @findex gnus-decay-score
14114 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
14115 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
14116 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
14117 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
14118 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
14119 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
14120 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
14121 definition of that function:
14124 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
14126 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
14127 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
14130 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
14132 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
14134 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
14137 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
14138 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
14139 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
14140 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
14144 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
14147 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
14150 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
14154 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
14155 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
14156 the new score, which should be an integer.
14158 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
14159 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
14166 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
14167 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
14168 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
14169 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
14170 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
14171 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
14172 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
14173 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
14174 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
14175 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
14176 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
14177 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
14178 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
14179 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
14180 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
14181 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
14182 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
14183 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
14187 @node Process/Prefix
14188 @section Process/Prefix
14189 @cindex process/prefix convention
14191 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
14192 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
14194 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
14195 command to be performed on.
14199 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
14200 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
14201 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
14202 with the current one.
14204 @vindex transient-mark-mode
14205 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
14206 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
14208 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
14209 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
14212 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
14213 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
14215 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
14218 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
14219 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
14220 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
14221 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14223 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
14224 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
14225 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
14226 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
14227 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
14228 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
14229 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
14230 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
14234 @section Interactive
14235 @cindex interaction
14239 @item gnus-novice-user
14240 @vindex gnus-novice-user
14241 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
14242 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
14243 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
14244 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
14247 @item gnus-expert-user
14248 @vindex gnus-expert-user
14249 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
14250 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
14251 matter how strange.
14253 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
14254 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
14255 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
14256 is @code{t} by default.
14258 @item gnus-interactive-exit
14259 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
14260 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14265 @node Symbolic Prefixes
14266 @section Symbolic Prefixes
14267 @cindex symbolic prefixes
14269 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
14270 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
14271 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
14272 rule of 900 to the current article.
14274 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
14275 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
14276 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
14277 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
14278 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
14279 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
14280 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
14282 @kindex M-i (Summary)
14283 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
14284 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
14285 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
14286 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
14287 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
14288 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
14289 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
14290 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
14292 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
14293 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
14294 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
14296 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
14300 @node Formatting Variables
14301 @section Formatting Variables
14302 @cindex formatting variables
14304 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
14305 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
14306 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
14307 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
14308 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
14311 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
14312 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
14313 lots of percentages everywhere.
14316 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
14317 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
14318 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
14319 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
14320 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
14323 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
14324 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
14325 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
14326 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
14327 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
14328 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
14329 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
14330 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
14332 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
14333 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
14335 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
14336 @findex gnus-update-format
14337 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
14338 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
14339 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
14340 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
14344 @node Formatting Basics
14345 @subsection Formatting Basics
14347 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
14348 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
14349 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
14351 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
14352 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
14353 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
14354 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
14355 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
14358 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
14359 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
14360 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
14361 less than 4 characters wide.
14364 @node Mode Line Formatting
14365 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
14367 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
14368 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
14369 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
14370 with the following two differences:
14375 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
14378 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
14379 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
14380 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
14381 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
14382 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
14383 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
14384 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
14389 @node Advanced Formatting
14390 @subsection Advanced Formatting
14392 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
14393 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
14394 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
14395 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
14397 These are the valid modifiers:
14402 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
14406 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
14411 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
14414 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
14419 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
14422 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
14425 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
14428 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
14432 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
14433 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
14434 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
14435 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
14436 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
14437 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
14438 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
14440 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
14441 last operation, padding.
14443 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
14444 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
14445 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
14446 @xref{Compilation}.
14449 @node User-Defined Specs
14450 @subsection User-Defined Specs
14452 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
14453 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
14454 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
14455 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
14456 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
14457 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
14458 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
14459 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
14460 should protect against that.
14462 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
14463 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
14464 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
14465 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
14469 @node Formatting Fonts
14470 @subsection Formatting Fonts
14472 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
14473 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
14474 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
14475 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
14478 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
14479 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
14480 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
14481 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
14482 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
14483 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
14485 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
14486 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say
14487 @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
14488 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
14489 symbols naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
14490 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
14491 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
14492 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
14494 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
14497 ;; Create three face types.
14498 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
14499 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
14501 ;; We want the article count to be in
14502 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
14503 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
14504 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
14506 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
14507 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
14509 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
14510 (setq gnus-group-line-format
14511 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
14514 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
14515 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
14517 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
14518 mode-line variables.
14521 @node Windows Configuration
14522 @section Windows Configuration
14523 @cindex windows configuration
14525 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
14527 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
14528 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
14529 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
14530 @code{t} by default.
14532 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
14533 glitches. Use at your own peril.
14535 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
14536 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
14537 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
14540 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
14541 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
14542 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14546 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
14547 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
14548 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
14549 possible names is listed below.
14551 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
14552 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
14555 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14559 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
14560 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
14561 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
14562 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
14563 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
14564 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
14565 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
14566 size spec per split.
14568 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
14569 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
14570 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
14571 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
14572 present) gets focus.
14574 Here's a more complicated example:
14577 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
14578 (summary 0.25 point)
14579 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
14583 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
14584 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
14585 occupy, not a percentage.
14587 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
14588 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
14589 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
14590 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
14591 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
14594 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
14597 (article (horizontal 1.0
14602 (summary 0.25 point)
14607 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
14608 @code{horizontal} thingie?
14610 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
14611 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
14612 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
14613 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
14614 the screen is to be given to this strip.
14616 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
14617 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
14618 lines from the splits.
14620 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
14624 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
14625 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14626 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14627 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14628 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14629 size = number | frame-params
14630 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14633 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14634 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14635 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14636 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14638 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14639 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14640 @cindex window height
14641 @cindex window width
14642 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14643 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14644 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14645 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14646 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14647 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14649 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14650 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14651 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14652 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14654 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14655 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14656 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14657 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14658 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14659 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14660 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14661 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14662 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14663 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14664 configuration list.
14667 (gnus-configure-frame
14671 (article 0.3 point))
14679 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14680 @code{frame} split:
14683 (gnus-configure-frame
14686 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14688 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14689 (user-position . t)
14690 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14695 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14696 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14697 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14698 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14699 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14700 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14701 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14702 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14705 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14706 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14708 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14709 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14710 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14711 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14712 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14713 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14715 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14716 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14717 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14721 (message (horizontal 1.0
14722 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14724 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14729 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14730 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14731 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14732 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14733 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14736 (gnus-add-configuration
14737 '(article (vertical 1.0
14739 (summary .25 point)
14743 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14744 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14745 Gnus has been loaded.
14747 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14748 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14749 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14750 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14751 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14753 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
14754 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
14755 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
14759 @node Faces and Fonts
14760 @section Faces and Fonts
14765 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14766 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14767 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14772 @section Compilation
14773 @cindex compilation
14774 @cindex byte-compilation
14776 @findex gnus-compile
14778 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14779 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14780 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14781 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14782 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14783 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14786 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14787 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14788 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14789 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14790 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14791 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14792 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14796 @section Mode Lines
14799 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14800 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14801 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14802 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14803 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14804 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14805 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14808 @cindex display-time
14810 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14811 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14812 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14813 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14814 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14815 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14816 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14817 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14820 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14822 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14823 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14825 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14826 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14827 (length display-time-string)))))
14830 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14831 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14832 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14833 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14834 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14837 @node Highlighting and Menus
14838 @section Highlighting and Menus
14840 @cindex highlighting
14843 @vindex gnus-visual
14844 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14845 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14846 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14849 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14850 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14853 @item group-highlight
14854 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14855 @item summary-highlight
14856 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14857 @item article-highlight
14858 Do highlights according to @code{gnus-article-display-hook} in the
14861 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14863 Create menus in the group buffer.
14865 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14867 Create menus in the article buffer.
14869 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14871 Create menus in the server buffer.
14873 Create menus in the score buffers.
14875 Create menus in all buffers.
14878 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14879 buffers, you could say something like:
14882 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14885 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14888 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14891 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14892 in all Gnus buffers.
14894 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14897 @item gnus-mouse-face
14898 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14899 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14900 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14904 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14908 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14909 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14910 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14912 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14913 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14914 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14916 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14917 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14918 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14920 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14921 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14922 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14924 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14925 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14926 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14928 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14929 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14930 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14941 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14942 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14943 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14944 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14945 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14949 @vindex gnus-carpal
14950 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14951 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14952 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14957 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14958 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14959 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14961 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14962 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14963 Face used on buttons.
14965 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14966 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14967 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14969 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14970 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14971 Buttons in the group buffer.
14973 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14974 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14975 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14977 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14978 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14979 Buttons in the server buffer.
14981 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14982 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14983 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14986 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14987 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14988 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14996 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14997 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14998 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14999 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
15000 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
15002 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
15003 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
15004 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
15006 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
15007 been idle for thirty minutes:
15010 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
15013 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
15017 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
15020 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
15021 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
15022 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
15024 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
15025 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
15026 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
15027 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
15029 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
15030 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
15031 @var{idle} minutes.
15033 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
15034 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
15037 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
15038 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
15039 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
15041 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
15042 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
15043 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
15044 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
15046 @vindex gnus-use-demon
15047 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
15048 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
15050 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
15051 your @file{.gnus} file:
15053 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
15055 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
15058 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
15059 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
15060 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
15061 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
15062 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
15063 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
15064 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
15065 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
15066 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
15067 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
15068 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
15070 @findex gnus-demon-init
15071 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
15072 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
15073 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
15074 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
15075 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
15077 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
15078 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
15079 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
15088 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
15089 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
15091 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
15092 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
15093 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
15094 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
15097 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
15098 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
15099 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
15100 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
15102 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
15103 this will make spam disappear.
15105 There are some variables to customize, of course:
15108 @item gnus-use-nocem
15109 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
15110 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
15113 @item gnus-nocem-groups
15114 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
15115 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
15116 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
15117 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
15119 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
15120 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
15121 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
15122 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
15123 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
15124 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
15125 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
15127 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
15130 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
15131 @cindex Chris Lewis
15132 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
15133 usenet abuse than anybody else.
15136 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
15137 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
15138 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
15140 @item jem@@xpat.com;
15142 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
15145 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
15146 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
15147 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
15150 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
15151 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
15152 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
15153 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
15154 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
15155 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
15156 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
15157 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
15158 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
15159 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
15161 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
15162 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
15165 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
15168 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
15169 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
15172 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
15175 The specs are applied left-to-right.
15178 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
15179 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
15181 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
15182 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
15183 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
15184 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
15186 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
15187 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
15190 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
15192 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
15200 This might be dangerous, though.
15202 @item gnus-nocem-directory
15203 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
15204 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
15205 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
15207 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15208 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15209 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
15210 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
15211 might then see old spam.
15215 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
15216 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
15217 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
15218 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
15225 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
15226 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
15227 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
15229 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
15230 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
15231 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
15232 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
15233 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
15234 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
15235 @code{undo} function.
15237 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
15238 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
15239 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
15240 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
15241 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
15242 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
15243 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
15244 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
15245 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
15246 never be totally undoable.
15248 @findex gnus-undo-mode
15249 @vindex gnus-use-undo
15251 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
15252 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
15253 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
15254 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
15259 @section Moderation
15262 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
15263 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
15264 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
15267 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
15271 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
15274 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
15276 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
15281 You split your incoming mail by matching on
15282 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
15283 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
15286 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
15287 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
15290 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
15291 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
15295 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
15298 (setq gnus-moderated-list
15299 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
15303 @node XEmacs Enhancements
15304 @section XEmacs Enhancements
15307 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
15311 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
15312 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
15313 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
15314 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
15327 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
15328 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
15329 over your shoulder as you read news.
15332 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
15333 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
15334 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
15335 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
15336 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
15341 @subsubsection Picon Basics
15343 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
15352 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
15353 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
15354 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
15355 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
15356 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
15357 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
15358 @code{GIF} formats.
15361 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15362 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
15363 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
15364 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
15365 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
15367 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15368 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
15369 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
15370 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
15371 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
15372 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15375 @node Picon Requirements
15376 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
15378 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
15379 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
15382 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
15383 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
15384 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
15386 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15387 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
15388 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
15389 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
15390 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
15394 @subsubsection Easy Picons
15396 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
15397 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
15400 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
15401 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15402 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15403 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15404 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
15407 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
15408 containing the Picons databases.
15410 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
15413 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15414 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
15419 @subsubsection Hard Picons
15427 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
15428 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
15429 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
15430 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
15431 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
15436 @item gnus-picons-database
15437 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15438 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
15439 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
15440 subdirectories. This is only useful if
15441 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
15442 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
15444 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15445 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15446 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
15447 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
15448 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
15449 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
15450 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15452 @item gnus-picons-display-where
15453 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15454 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
15455 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
15456 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
15457 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
15458 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
15459 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
15461 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15462 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15463 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
15468 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
15469 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
15471 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
15472 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
15475 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
15476 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15478 @item gnus-article-display-picons
15479 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15480 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
15481 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
15482 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15484 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
15485 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15486 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
15487 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15491 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
15492 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
15495 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15499 @node Picon Useless Configuration
15500 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
15508 The following variables offer further control over how things are
15509 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
15510 don't need to worry about.
15514 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
15515 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
15516 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15517 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
15519 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
15520 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
15521 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
15522 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
15524 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
15525 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
15526 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15527 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
15528 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
15530 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15531 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15532 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
15533 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
15534 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
15535 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
15536 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
15538 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15539 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15540 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
15541 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
15543 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15544 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15545 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
15546 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
15547 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
15548 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
15549 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
15551 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15552 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15553 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
15554 Defaults to @code{nil}.
15556 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
15557 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
15558 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
15559 Defaults to @code{t}.
15561 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15562 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15563 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
15564 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
15566 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15567 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15568 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
15569 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
15571 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15572 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15573 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
15574 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
15575 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
15576 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
15577 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
15578 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
15589 @subsection Smileys
15594 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
15599 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
15600 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
15602 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
15603 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15606 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
15609 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
15610 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
15611 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
15612 text and maps that to file names.
15614 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
15615 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
15616 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
15617 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
15618 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
15619 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
15621 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
15622 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
15624 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
15625 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
15626 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
15628 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
15629 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
15633 @item smiley-data-directory
15634 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15635 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15637 @item smiley-flesh-color
15638 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15639 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15641 @item smiley-features-color
15642 @vindex smiley-features-color
15643 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15645 @item smiley-tongue-color
15646 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15647 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15649 @item smiley-circle-color
15650 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15651 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15653 @item smiley-mouse-face
15654 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15655 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15661 @subsection Toolbar
15671 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15672 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15673 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15674 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15675 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15677 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15678 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15679 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15681 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15682 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15683 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15685 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15686 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15687 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15693 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15696 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15697 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15698 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15699 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15700 unusual directory structure.
15702 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15703 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15704 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15705 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15707 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15708 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15709 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15710 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15711 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15712 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15714 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15715 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15716 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15730 @node Fuzzy Matching
15731 @section Fuzzy Matching
15732 @cindex fuzzy matching
15734 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15735 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15737 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15738 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15739 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15741 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15742 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15743 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15744 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15745 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15748 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15749 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15753 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15755 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15756 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15757 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15758 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15759 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15760 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15761 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15762 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15765 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15766 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15767 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15768 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15769 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15770 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15774 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15775 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15777 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15778 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15779 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15780 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15781 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15782 part of the mail address.)
15785 (setq message-default-news-headers
15786 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15789 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15790 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15795 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15796 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15797 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15803 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15804 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15805 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15806 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15808 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15809 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15810 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15811 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15812 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15813 your fancy split rule in this way:
15818 (to "larsi" "misc")
15822 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15823 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15824 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15825 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15826 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15828 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15829 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15830 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15831 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15832 cosmic balance somewhat.
15834 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15835 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15836 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15837 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15840 @node Various Various
15841 @section Various Various
15847 @item gnus-home-directory
15848 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15849 defaults to @file{~/}.
15851 @item gnus-directory
15852 @vindex gnus-directory
15853 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15854 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15855 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15857 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15858 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15859 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15860 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15862 @item gnus-default-directory
15863 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15864 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15865 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15866 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15867 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15868 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15869 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15872 @vindex gnus-verbose
15873 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15874 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15875 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15876 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15877 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15879 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15880 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15881 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15882 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15884 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15885 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15886 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15887 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15888 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15889 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15890 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15891 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15892 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15893 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15895 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15896 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15897 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15898 read when doing the operation described above.
15900 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15901 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15903 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15904 @cindex characters in file names
15905 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15906 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15907 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15910 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15914 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15915 Windows (phooey) systems.
15917 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15918 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15919 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15920 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15921 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15923 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15924 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15925 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15926 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15927 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15929 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15930 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15931 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15940 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15941 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15943 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15945 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15951 Not because of victories @*
15954 but for the common sunshine,@*
15956 the largess of the spring.
15960 but for the day's work done@*
15961 as well as I was able;@*
15962 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15963 but at the common table.@*
15968 @chapter Appendices
15971 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15972 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15973 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15974 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15975 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15976 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15977 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15985 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15986 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15988 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15989 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15990 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15991 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15992 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15994 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15995 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15996 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15997 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15998 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15999 appropriate name, don't you think?)
16001 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
16002 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
16003 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
16004 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
16006 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
16007 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
16008 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
16010 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
16011 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
16013 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
16014 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
16016 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
16017 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6 on March 8th 1998.
16019 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
16020 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
16021 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
16022 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
16023 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
16027 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
16028 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
16029 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
16030 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
16031 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
16032 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
16033 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
16040 What's the point of Gnus?
16042 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
16043 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
16044 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
16045 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
16046 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
16047 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
16048 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
16049 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
16050 keep track of millions of people who post?
16052 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
16053 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
16054 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
16055 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
16056 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
16057 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
16058 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
16059 every one of you to explore and invent.
16061 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
16062 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
16065 @node Compatibility
16066 @subsection Compatibility
16068 @cindex compatibility
16069 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
16070 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
16071 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
16076 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
16080 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
16083 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
16086 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
16087 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
16088 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
16089 important variables have their values copied into their global
16090 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
16091 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
16093 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
16094 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
16095 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
16096 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
16097 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
16101 @cindex highlighting
16102 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
16103 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
16104 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
16105 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
16106 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
16107 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
16110 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
16111 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
16112 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
16113 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
16115 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
16116 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
16117 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
16118 to stop doing it the old way.
16120 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
16122 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
16124 @cindex reporting bugs
16126 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
16127 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
16128 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
16130 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
16131 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
16132 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
16133 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
16138 @subsection Conformity
16140 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
16141 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
16148 There are no known breaches of this standard.
16152 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
16154 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
16155 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
16156 We do have some breaches to this one.
16161 Gnus does not yet fully handle MIME, and this standard-to-be seems to
16162 think that MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
16165 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
16166 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
16167 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
16168 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
16169 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
16174 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
16175 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
16176 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
16177 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
16181 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
16182 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
16187 @subsection Emacsen
16193 Gnus should work on :
16201 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
16205 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
16206 reliably, at least.
16208 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
16209 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
16210 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
16215 @subsection Contributors
16216 @cindex contributors
16218 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
16219 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
16220 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
16221 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
16222 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
16223 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
16224 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
16225 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
16226 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
16227 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
16229 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
16235 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
16238 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
16239 well as numerous other things).
16242 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
16245 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
16248 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el and many other things
16249 connected with @sc{mime} and other types of en/decoding.
16252 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
16253 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
16256 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
16259 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
16260 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16263 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
16266 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
16269 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
16272 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
16275 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
16276 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
16279 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
16282 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
16285 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
16288 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
16292 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
16295 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
16298 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
16301 Fran
\e,Ag
\e(Bois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
16302 well as autoconf support.
16306 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
16307 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
16309 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
16314 David K
\e,Ae
\e(Bgedal,
16318 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
16322 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
16344 Massimo Campostrini,
16352 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
16358 Michael Welsh Duggan,
16361 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
16365 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
16372 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
16374 Michelangelo Grigni,
16377 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
16379 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
16381 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
16386 Fran
\e,Ag
\e(Bois Felix Ingrand,
16387 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
16389 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
16398 Peter Skov Knudsen,
16399 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
16400 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
16401 Thor Kristoffersen,
16404 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
16421 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
16422 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
16429 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
16433 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
16436 John McClary Prevost,
16442 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
16447 Christian von Roques,
16449 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
16456 Philippe Schnoebelen,
16458 Randal L. Schwartz,
16488 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka.
16490 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
16491 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
16492 (550kB and counting).
16494 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
16497 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
16498 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
16502 @subsection New Features
16503 @cindex new features
16506 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
16507 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
16508 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
16509 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
16512 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
16513 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
16514 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
16518 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
16520 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
16525 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
16526 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
16529 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
16530 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
16533 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
16536 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
16537 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
16538 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
16541 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
16542 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
16543 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
16544 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16547 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
16548 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16551 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
16552 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
16553 (@pxref{The Active File}).
16556 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
16557 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
16560 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
16561 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
16562 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16565 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
16566 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
16567 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
16570 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
16571 the @file{.emacs} file.
16574 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
16575 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16578 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
16579 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
16582 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
16583 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16586 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
16587 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
16590 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
16591 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16594 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
16597 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
16598 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
16601 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
16602 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
16605 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
16606 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
16609 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
16612 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
16613 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16616 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
16620 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
16624 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
16625 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
16628 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
16634 @node September Gnus
16635 @subsubsection September Gnus
16639 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
16643 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
16648 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
16649 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
16653 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16654 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16658 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16662 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16663 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16666 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16670 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16673 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16676 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16679 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16683 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16684 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16687 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16691 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16695 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16699 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16703 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16706 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16707 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16710 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16714 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16715 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16718 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16721 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16722 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16723 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16726 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16730 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16733 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16737 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16738 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16741 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16742 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16745 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16746 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16749 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16750 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16751 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16754 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16755 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16758 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16761 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16764 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16765 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16769 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16772 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16775 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16776 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16779 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16783 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16786 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16791 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16794 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16798 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16801 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16805 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16808 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16811 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16812 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16815 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16816 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16820 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16821 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16824 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16828 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16829 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16832 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16835 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16839 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16843 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16844 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16847 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16851 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16852 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16855 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16856 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16859 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16863 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16866 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16867 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16871 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16874 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16880 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16882 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16886 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16893 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16896 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16897 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16900 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16901 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16905 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16906 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16909 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16912 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16913 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16916 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16920 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16921 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16925 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16926 Server Internals}).
16929 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16933 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16936 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16937 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16940 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16941 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16942 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16945 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16946 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16949 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16950 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16953 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16957 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16958 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16961 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16962 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16965 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16969 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16972 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16976 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16977 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16980 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16981 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16984 A new command for reading collections of documents
16985 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16986 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16989 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16993 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16994 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16997 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16998 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16999 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
17002 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
17003 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
17007 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
17011 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
17015 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
17020 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
17024 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
17028 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
17029 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
17032 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
17035 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
17036 'gnus-article-emphasize)
17043 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
17045 New features in Gnus 5.6:
17050 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
17051 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
17052 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
17055 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
17056 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
17057 group, which is created automatically.
17060 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
17064 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
17067 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
17068 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
17071 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
17075 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
17078 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
17079 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
17082 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
17085 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
17086 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
17089 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
17090 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
17093 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
17094 control over simplification.
17097 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
17100 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
17104 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
17107 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
17110 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
17111 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
17112 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
17115 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
17116 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
17119 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
17123 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
17124 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
17127 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
17128 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
17131 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
17135 A history of where mails have been split is available.
17138 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
17141 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
17142 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
17145 A new function for citing in Message has been
17146 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
17149 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
17152 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
17156 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
17157 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
17160 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
17161 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
17164 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
17167 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
17172 @node Newest Features
17173 @subsection Newest Features
17176 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
17179 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
17181 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
17182 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
17185 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
17190 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
17193 Really do unbinhexing.
17196 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
17197 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
17200 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
17203 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
17206 facep is not declared.
17209 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
17210 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
17213 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
17218 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
17219 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
17220 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
17221 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
17222 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
17223 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
17224 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
17229 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
17232 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
17235 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
17237 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
17238 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
17240 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
17242 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
17244 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
17245 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
17247 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
17249 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
17250 be marked as unread.
17252 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
17254 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
17256 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
17257 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
17259 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
17261 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
17263 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
17264 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
17266 topics that contain just groups with ticked
17267 articles aren't displayed.
17269 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
17271 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
17272 make the mail groups killed.
17274 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
17276 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
17277 and articles have to be removed.
17279 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
17282 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
17284 finding short score file names takes forever.
17286 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17288 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
17290 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
17292 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
17294 nnweb doesn't work properly.
17296 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
17298 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
17299 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
17303 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
17305 really unbinhex binhex files.
17307 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
17308 bar and the Gnus bar.
17311 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
17312 `(canonize-message-id id)'
17313 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
17314 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
17315 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
17316 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
17321 nnml .overview directory with splits.
17325 postponed commands.
17327 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
17329 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
17332 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
17333 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
17335 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
17336 inherit copy prompts and save files.
17338 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
17340 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
17341 for backends that support that.
17343 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
17345 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
17346 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
17348 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
17349 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
17351 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
17353 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
17355 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
17357 server mode command: close/open all connections
17359 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
17360 has been changed before using it.
17362 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
17364 hide (sub)threads with low score.
17366 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
17368 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
17370 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
17371 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
17373 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
17374 contain groups that match a regexp.
17376 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
17379 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
17382 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
17383 from subject lines.
17385 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
17387 nntp-ping-before-connect
17389 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
17391 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
17392 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
17394 message annotations.
17396 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
17398 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
17399 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
17401 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
17406 support qmail maildir spools
17408 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
17410 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
17412 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
17414 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
17415 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
17417 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
17419 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
17421 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
17422 finds and generate proper active ranges.
17424 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
17425 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
17427 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
17429 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
17431 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
17432 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
17434 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
17436 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
17438 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
17439 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
17442 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
17444 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
17446 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
17447 `C-c C-c' when posting.
17449 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
17452 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
17453 should be marker as expirable.
17455 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
17457 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
17458 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
17460 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
17461 Also consult Date headers.
17463 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
17465 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
17467 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
17468 Message-ID, delete the "original".
17470 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
17471 into a See-Also header.
17473 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
17475 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
17477 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
17478 should be listed as such and not as "K".
17480 generate font names dynamically.
17482 score file mode auto-alist.
17484 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
17485 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
17487 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
17488 absolutely all headers there is.
17490 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
17491 and pipe them to the process.
17493 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
17494 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
17495 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
17497 function for starting to edit a file to put into
17498 the current mail group.
17500 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
17502 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
17503 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
17505 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
17506 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
17508 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
17510 when replying to several process-marked articles,
17511 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
17513 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
17514 groups it has been mailed to.
17516 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
17518 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
17520 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
17522 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
17523 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
17525 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
17526 newlines) should be ignored.
17528 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
17529 groups in subtopics as well.
17531 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
17533 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
17536 add edit and forward secondary marks.
17538 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
17540 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
17542 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
17544 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
17546 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
17548 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
17549 or the formatted article.
17551 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
17553 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
17554 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
17556 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
17558 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
17560 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
17562 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
17563 even unread articles.
17565 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
17567 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
17569 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
17571 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
17573 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17575 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
17578 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
17579 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
17581 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
17582 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
17584 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
17586 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
17588 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
17589 from a particular server? Hm.
17591 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
17592 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
17594 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
17596 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
17597 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
17599 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
17600 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
17602 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
17603 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
17604 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
17607 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
17608 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
17610 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
17612 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
17614 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
17616 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
17619 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
17622 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
17623 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
17625 command to show and edit group scores
17627 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
17630 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
17632 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
17634 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
17635 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
17638 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
17639 that are of that length.
17641 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
17643 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
17645 asynchronous posting under nntp.
17647 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
17649 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
17651 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17653 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17654 a score lower than this number.
17656 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17658 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17660 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17661 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17663 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17665 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17666 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17668 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17671 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17672 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17673 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17674 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17676 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17679 command to remove all topic stuff.
17681 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17682 and splitting the resulting digests.
17684 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17686 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17688 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17689 matches an alist -- before saving.
17691 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17693 variable to activate each group before entering them
17694 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17696 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17697 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17699 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17700 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17702 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17704 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17705 of several groups at once.
17707 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17708 matches some regexp(s).
17710 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17712 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17714 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17716 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17718 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17720 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17722 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17724 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17725 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17726 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17727 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17729 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17730 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17732 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17734 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17735 recently cited text.
17737 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17739 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17742 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17743 server and just read the articles in the server
17745 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17746 value of nnoo variables.
17748 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17750 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17751 listed in each group info.
17753 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17756 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17757 should only be applied to some groups.
17759 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17760 mail-copies-to: never.
17762 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17763 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17765 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
17767 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17770 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17773 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17775 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17778 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17782 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17784 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17785 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17786 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17787 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17788 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17790 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
17791 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17798 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17799 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17801 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17802 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17804 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17805 "Return the date the group was last read."
17806 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17811 tanken var at n
\e,Ae
\e(Br du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til ilete
17812 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den v
\e,Af
\e(Bre en
17813 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17814 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17818 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17819 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17821 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17824 They could be used like this:
17828 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17829 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17830 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17832 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17834 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17837 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17840 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17841 affect the summary line format.
17845 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17847 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17848 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17850 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17853 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17855 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17857 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17859 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17861 - For other files, just find them normally.
17863 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17864 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17867 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17868 tell him what you are doing.
17871 Currently, I get prompted:
17875 decend into sci.something ?
17879 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17880 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17881 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17882 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17885 Ja, det burde v
\e,Af
\e(Bre en m
\e,Ae
\e(Bte
\e,Ae
\e(B si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17886 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? S
\e,Ae
\e(B kunne score-regler legges til den
17887 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17888 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17891 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17892 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17898 more than n blank lines
17900 more than m identical lines
17901 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17903 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17907 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17908 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17909 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17910 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17913 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17914 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17915 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17916 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17919 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17922 soup - bowl of soup
17923 score below - dim light bulb
17924 score over - bright light bulb
17927 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17932 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17933 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17934 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17935 if (articles-selected)
17936 start-reading-selected-articles;
17937 junk-unread-articles;
17942 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17943 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17944 select-thread-under-cursor;
17946 select-article-under-cursor;
17950 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17951 if (more-pages-in-article)
17953 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17960 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17961 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17962 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17965 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17966 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17967 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17968 the wildcard expression).
17971 It would be nice if it also handled
17973 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17975 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17980 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17981 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17982 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17983 article versions) variable.
17985 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17987 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17988 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17992 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17995 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17996 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17997 (message-sent-hook).
17999 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
18002 * Enhancements to Gnus:
18006 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
18007 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
18010 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
18011 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
18012 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
18015 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
18016 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
18020 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
18023 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
18027 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
18028 the nnmail duplicate checking.
18031 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
18032 value of the signature file.
18035 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
18036 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
18039 (setq message-tab-alist
18040 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
18041 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
18043 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
18047 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
18050 a command to import a buffer into a group.
18053 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
18056 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
18057 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
18060 a command to process mark all unread articles.
18063 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
18064 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
18065 do more gathering by subject.
18068 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
18069 article numerical order.
18072 (gnus-thread-total-score
18073 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
18077 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
18080 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
18081 in the summary buffer.
18084 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
18085 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
18088 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
18089 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
18090 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
18091 and/or newsgroup name.
18094 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
18097 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
18100 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
18103 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
18104 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
18105 will automatically get the process mark.
18108 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
18109 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
18110 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
18113 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
18117 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
18118 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
18121 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
18122 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
18126 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
18127 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
18130 be able to post via DejaNews.
18133 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
18136 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
18137 allow them to be displayed separately.
18140 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
18141 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
18144 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
18145 articles that match a certain From header.
18148 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
18149 saving living summary buffers.
18152 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
18153 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
18156 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
18157 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
18160 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
18161 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
18164 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
18165 (goto-char (point-min))
18166 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
18167 (replace-match "`" t t))
18168 (goto-char (point-min))
18169 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
18170 (replace-match "'" t t))
18171 (goto-char (point-min))
18172 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
18173 (replace-match "\"" t t))
18174 (goto-char (point-min))
18175 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
18176 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
18181 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
18183 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
18184 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
18185 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
18186 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
18190 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
18193 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
18194 numbers and match on the age of the article.
18198 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
18199 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
18200 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
18202 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
18203 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
18205 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
18206 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
18211 all commands that react to the process mark should push
18212 the current process mark set onto the stack.
18215 gnus-article-hide-pgp
18216 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt islette den dersom teksten matcher
18218 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
18220 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
18221 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
18224 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
18225 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
18228 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
18232 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
18233 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
18236 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
18239 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
18242 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
18245 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
18249 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
18255 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
18258 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
18262 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
18263 X characters in the body.
18266 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
18269 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
18272 format spec to "tab" to a position.
18275 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
18278 command to display all dormant articles.
18281 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
18284 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
18285 to something someone else has said.
18288 Read Netscape discussion groups:
18289 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
18292 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
18293 the displayed version.
18296 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
18300 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
18303 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
18304 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
18305 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
18309 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
18310 in the head or body.
18313 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
18316 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
18319 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
18320 in a special, unique buffer.
18323 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
18326 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
18327 is less than a certain number of days old.
18330 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
18333 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
18336 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
18337 file, for instance.
18340 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
18341 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
18342 dummy root instead of the first article.
18345 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
18346 topics for displaying.
18349 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
18350 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
18353 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
18356 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
18357 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
18358 summary buffer for each article.
18361 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
18364 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
18368 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
18371 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
18375 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
18378 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
18381 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
18382 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
18385 `S D r' should allow expansion of aliases.
18388 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
18389 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
18392 The documentation should mention pop3.el, fetchmail, smtpmail and why
18393 po:username often fails.
18396 Fetch by Message-ID from dejanews.
18398 <URL:http://search.dejanews.com/msgid.xp?MID=%3C62h9l9$hm4@@basement.replay.com%3E&fmt=raw>
18401 Solve the halting problem.
18410 @section The Manual
18414 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
18415 either @code{texi2dvi}
18417 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
18418 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
18420 to get what you hold in your hands now.
18422 The following conventions have been used:
18427 This is a @samp{string}
18430 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
18433 This is a @file{file}
18436 This is a @code{symbol}
18440 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
18444 (setq flargnoze "yes")
18447 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
18450 (setq flumphel 'yes)
18453 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
18454 ever get them confused.
18458 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
18459 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
18460 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
18461 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
18462 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
18463 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
18464 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
18472 @section Terminology
18474 @cindex terminology
18479 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
18480 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
18481 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
18482 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
18483 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
18487 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
18488 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
18489 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
18490 not posting, and replying is not following up.
18494 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
18498 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
18503 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
18504 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
18505 is all done by the backends.
18509 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
18510 default, way of getting news.
18514 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
18515 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
18520 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
18521 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
18525 A message that has been posted as news.
18528 @cindex mail message
18529 A message that has been mailed.
18533 A mail message or news article
18537 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
18542 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
18547 A line from the head of an article.
18551 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
18552 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
18556 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
18557 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
18558 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
18559 normal @sc{head} format.
18563 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
18564 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
18565 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
18566 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
18567 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
18568 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
18570 @item killed groups
18571 @cindex killed groups
18572 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
18573 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
18575 @item zombie groups
18576 @cindex zombie groups
18577 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
18580 @cindex active file
18581 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
18582 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
18583 is rather large, as you might surmise.
18586 @cindex bogus groups
18587 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
18588 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
18589 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
18592 @cindex activating groups
18593 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
18594 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
18595 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
18599 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
18601 @item select method
18602 @cindex select method
18603 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
18606 @item virtual server
18607 @cindex virtual server
18608 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
18609 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
18610 whole is a virtual server.
18614 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
18615 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
18618 @item ephemeral groups
18619 @cindex ephemeral groups
18620 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
18621 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
18622 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
18625 @cindex solid groups
18626 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
18627 group buffer are solid groups.
18629 @item sparse articles
18630 @cindex sparse articles
18631 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
18632 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
18636 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
18637 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
18641 @cindex thread root
18642 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
18643 articles in the thread.
18647 An article that has responses.
18651 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
18655 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
18656 specified by RFC1153.
18662 @node Customization
18663 @section Customization
18664 @cindex general customization
18666 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
18667 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
18668 for some quite common situations.
18671 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
18672 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
18673 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
18674 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
18678 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
18679 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
18681 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
18682 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
18683 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
18687 @item gnus-read-active-file
18688 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
18689 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
18690 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18691 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
18692 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
18694 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
18695 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
18696 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
18697 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18701 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18702 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18704 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18705 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18706 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18710 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18711 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18712 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18713 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18714 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18716 @item gnus-visible-headers
18717 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18718 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18719 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18720 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18722 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18723 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18725 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18726 '(gnus-article-hide-headers
18727 gnus-article-hide-signature
18728 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18731 @item gnus-use-full-window
18732 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18733 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18734 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18735 want to read them anyway.
18737 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18738 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18741 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18742 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18743 lines, which might save some time.
18747 @node Little Disk Space
18748 @subsection Little Disk Space
18751 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18752 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18756 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18757 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18758 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18759 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18762 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18763 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18764 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18765 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18766 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18772 @subsection Slow Machine
18773 @cindex slow machine
18775 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18776 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18778 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18779 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18781 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18782 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18783 summary buffer faster.
18785 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18786 processing a bit faster.
18790 @node Troubleshooting
18791 @section Troubleshooting
18792 @cindex troubleshooting
18794 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18802 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18805 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18806 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18810 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18811 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18812 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18813 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18816 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18820 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18821 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18822 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18823 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18824 something like that.
18827 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18830 @cindex reporting bugs
18832 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18834 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18835 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18836 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18837 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18839 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18840 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18841 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18842 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18845 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18846 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18847 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18848 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18849 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18850 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18852 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18853 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18854 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18857 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18858 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18860 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18861 @cindex ding mailing list
18862 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18863 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18867 @node Gnus Reference Guide
18868 @section Gnus Reference Guide
18870 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18871 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18872 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18873 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18876 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18877 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18878 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18879 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18880 and general methods of operation.
18883 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18884 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18885 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18886 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18887 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18888 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18889 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18890 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18891 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18895 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18896 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18897 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18898 @cindex utility functions
18900 @cindex internal variables
18902 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18903 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18904 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18908 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18909 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18910 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18912 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18913 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18914 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18916 @item gnus-group-real-name
18917 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18918 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18921 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18922 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18923 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18924 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18926 @item gnus-get-info
18927 @findex gnus-get-info
18928 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18930 @item gnus-group-unread
18931 @findex gnus-group-unread
18932 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
18936 @findex gnus-active
18937 The active entry for @var{group}.
18939 @item gnus-set-active
18940 @findex gnus-set-active
18941 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
18943 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18944 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18945 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18948 @item gnus-continuum-version
18949 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18950 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18951 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18954 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18955 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18956 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18958 @item gnus-news-group-p
18959 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18960 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18962 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18963 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18964 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18966 @item gnus-server-to-method
18967 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18968 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18970 @item gnus-server-equal
18971 @findex gnus-server-equal
18972 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18974 @item gnus-group-native-p
18975 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18976 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18978 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18979 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18980 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18982 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18983 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18984 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18986 @item group-group-find-parameter
18987 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18988 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18989 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18991 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18992 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18993 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18995 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18996 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18997 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18999 @item gnus-check-backend-function
19000 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
19001 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
19002 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
19005 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
19009 @item gnus-read-method
19010 @findex gnus-read-method
19011 Prompts the user for a select method.
19016 @node Backend Interface
19017 @subsection Backend Interface
19019 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
19020 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
19021 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
19022 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
19023 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
19024 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
19026 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
19027 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
19028 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
19029 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
19030 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
19031 been opened, the function should fail.
19033 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
19034 name. Take this example:
19038 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
19039 (nntp-port-number 4324))
19042 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
19043 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
19045 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
19046 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
19047 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
19049 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
19050 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
19051 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
19053 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
19054 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
19055 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
19056 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
19057 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
19058 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
19061 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
19062 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
19063 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
19064 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
19067 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
19070 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
19073 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
19074 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
19075 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
19076 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
19077 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
19078 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
19082 @node Required Backend Functions
19083 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
19087 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
19089 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
19090 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
19091 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
19092 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
19094 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
19095 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
19096 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
19097 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
19099 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
19100 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
19101 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
19102 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
19103 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
19104 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
19105 number, do maximum fetches.
19107 Here's an example HEAD:
19110 221 1056 Article retrieved.
19111 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
19112 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
19113 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
19114 Subject: Re: Something very droll
19115 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
19116 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
19118 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
19119 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
19120 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
19124 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
19125 these in the data buffer.
19127 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
19131 head = error / valid-head
19132 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
19133 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
19134 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
19135 header = <text> eol
19138 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
19139 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
19143 nov-buffer = *nov-line
19144 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
19145 field = <text except TAB>
19148 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
19152 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
19154 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
19155 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
19157 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
19158 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
19159 server. In fact, it should do so.
19161 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
19162 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
19165 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
19167 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
19168 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
19171 There should be no data returned.
19174 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
19176 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
19177 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
19178 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
19179 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
19181 There should be no data returned.
19184 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
19186 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
19187 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
19188 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
19189 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
19191 There should be no data returned.
19194 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
19196 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
19198 There should be no data returned.
19201 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
19203 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
19204 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
19205 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
19206 it would be nice if that were possible.
19208 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
19209 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
19210 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
19211 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
19212 into its article buffer.
19214 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
19215 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
19216 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
19217 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
19218 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
19219 on successful article retrieval.
19222 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
19224 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
19225 making @var{group} the current group.
19227 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
19230 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
19233 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
19236 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
19237 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
19238 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
19239 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
19240 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
19241 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
19242 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
19243 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
19246 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
19247 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
19248 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
19252 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19254 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
19255 a no-op on most backends.
19257 There should be no data returned.
19260 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
19262 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
19265 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
19268 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
19269 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
19272 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
19273 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
19276 active-file = *active-line
19277 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
19279 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
19282 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
19283 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
19284 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
19287 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
19289 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
19290 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
19291 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
19292 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
19293 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
19294 clear if the posting could not be completed.
19296 There should be no result data from this function.
19301 @node Optional Backend Functions
19302 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
19306 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
19308 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
19309 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
19310 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
19312 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
19313 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
19314 former is in the same format as the data from
19315 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
19316 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
19319 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
19323 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
19325 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
19326 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
19327 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
19328 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
19329 should return the (altered) group info.
19331 There should be no result data from this function.
19334 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
19336 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
19337 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
19338 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
19339 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
19340 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
19341 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
19342 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
19343 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
19345 There should be no result data from this function.
19348 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
19350 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
19351 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
19352 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as IMAP) however carry all
19353 information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to propagate
19354 the mark information to the server.
19356 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
19359 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
19362 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
19363 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
19364 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
19365 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
19366 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a
19367 symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
19368 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
19369 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
19370 not limit itself to theese.
19372 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
19373 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
19374 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
19375 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
19377 An example action list:
19380 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
19381 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
19382 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
19385 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
19386 mark on (currently not used for anything).
19388 There should be no result data from this function.
19390 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
19392 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
19393 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
19394 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
19395 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
19396 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
19398 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
19399 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
19400 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
19403 There should be no result data from this function.
19406 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
19408 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
19409 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
19410 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
19411 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
19412 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
19413 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
19414 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
19416 There should be no result data from this function.
19419 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
19421 The result data from this function should be a description of
19425 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
19427 description = <text>
19430 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
19432 The result data from this function should be the description of all
19433 groups available on the server.
19436 description-buffer = *description-line
19440 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
19442 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
19443 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
19444 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
19447 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19449 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
19451 There should be no return data.
19454 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
19456 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
19457 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
19458 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
19459 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
19460 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
19463 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
19466 There should be no result data returned.
19469 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
19472 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
19473 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
19475 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
19476 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
19477 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
19478 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
19479 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
19480 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
19482 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
19483 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
19486 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19487 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19489 There should be no data returned.
19492 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
19494 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
19495 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
19496 this function in short order.
19498 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19499 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19501 There should be no data returned.
19504 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
19506 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
19507 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
19509 There should be no data returned.
19512 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
19514 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
19515 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
19516 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
19518 There should be no data returned.
19521 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
19523 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
19524 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
19526 There should be no data returned.
19531 @node Error Messaging
19532 @subsubsection Error Messaging
19534 @findex nnheader-report
19535 @findex nnheader-get-report
19536 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
19537 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
19538 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
19539 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
19540 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
19541 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
19544 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
19546 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
19549 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
19550 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
19551 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
19552 takes one argument---the server symbol.
19554 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
19555 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
19556 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
19559 @node Writing New Backends
19560 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
19562 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
19563 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
19564 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
19565 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
19566 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
19569 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
19570 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
19571 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
19573 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
19574 package called @code{nnoo}.
19576 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
19577 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
19583 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
19584 parameters. For instance:
19587 (nnoo-declare nndir
19591 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
19592 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
19595 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
19596 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
19597 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
19599 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
19600 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
19601 a function in those backends.
19604 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19605 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19606 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19609 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
19610 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
19611 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
19613 @item nnoo-define-basics
19614 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
19618 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19622 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
19623 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
19624 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
19626 @item nnoo-map-functions
19627 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
19628 functions from the parent backends.
19631 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19632 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19633 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
19636 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
19637 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
19638 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
19639 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
19642 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
19643 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
19644 haven't already been defined.
19650 nnmh-request-newgroups)
19654 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
19655 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
19656 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
19661 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
19664 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
19665 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19669 (require 'nnheader)
19673 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
19675 (nnoo-declare nndir
19678 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19679 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19680 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19682 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
19683 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
19686 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
19687 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
19688 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
19690 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
19691 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
19693 ;;; Interface functions.
19695 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19697 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
19698 (setq nndir-directory
19699 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
19701 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
19702 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
19703 (push `(nndir-current-group
19704 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19706 (push `(nndir-top-directory
19707 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19709 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
19711 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19712 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19713 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19714 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
19715 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
19719 nnmh-status-message
19721 nnmh-request-newgroups))
19727 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19728 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19730 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
19731 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
19732 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
19733 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
19735 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
19736 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
19741 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
19744 The abilities can be:
19748 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
19750 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
19752 This backend supports both mail and news.
19754 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19757 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19758 articles and groups.
19760 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19761 true for almost all backends.
19762 @item prompt-address
19763 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19764 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19765 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19769 @node Mail-like Backends
19770 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19772 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19773 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19774 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19775 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19778 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19779 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19780 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19783 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19784 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19787 This function takes four parameters.
19791 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19794 @item exit-function
19795 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19797 @item temp-directory
19798 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19801 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19802 performed for one group only.
19805 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19806 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19807 find the article number assigned to this article.
19809 The function also uses the following variables:
19810 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19811 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19812 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19813 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19817 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19818 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19822 @node Score File Syntax
19823 @subsection Score File Syntax
19825 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19826 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19827 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19829 Here's a typical score file:
19833 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19840 BNF definition of a score file:
19843 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19844 element = rule / atom
19845 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19846 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19847 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19848 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19850 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19851 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19852 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19853 date-header = "date"
19854 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19855 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19856 score = "nil" / <integer>
19857 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19858 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19859 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19860 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19861 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19862 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19863 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19864 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19865 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19866 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19867 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19868 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19869 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19870 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19871 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19872 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19873 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19874 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19875 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19876 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19877 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19878 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19879 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19880 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19881 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19882 eval = "eval" space <form>
19883 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19886 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19889 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19890 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19891 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19892 one looong line, then that's ok.
19894 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19895 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19899 @subsection Headers
19901 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19902 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19903 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19904 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19906 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19907 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19908 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19909 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19910 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19911 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19912 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19914 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19915 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19916 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
19917 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19918 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19920 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
19921 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
19927 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19928 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19930 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19931 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19932 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19933 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19935 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19939 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19942 is transformed into
19945 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19948 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19949 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19952 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19955 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19956 is slightly tricky:
19959 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19965 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19968 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19974 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19981 and is equal to the previous range.
19983 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19984 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19985 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19989 range = simple-range / normal-range
19990 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19991 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19992 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19993 number *[ " " contents ]
19996 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19997 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19998 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19999 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
20000 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
20005 @subsection Group Info
20007 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
20008 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
20009 describes the group.
20011 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
20012 second is a more complex one:
20015 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
20017 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
20018 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
20020 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
20023 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
20024 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
20025 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
20026 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
20027 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
20028 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
20029 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
20030 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
20031 this section is about.
20033 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
20034 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
20035 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
20037 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
20040 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
20041 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
20042 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
20043 group = quote <string> quote
20044 ralevel = rank / level
20045 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
20046 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
20047 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
20049 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
20050 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
20051 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
20052 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
20055 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
20056 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
20059 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
20060 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
20063 @item gnus-info-group
20064 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
20065 @findex gnus-info-group
20066 @findex gnus-info-set-group
20067 Get/set the group name.
20069 @item gnus-info-rank
20070 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
20071 @findex gnus-info-rank
20072 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
20073 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
20075 @item gnus-info-level
20076 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
20077 @findex gnus-info-level
20078 @findex gnus-info-set-level
20079 Get/set the group level.
20081 @item gnus-info-score
20082 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
20083 @findex gnus-info-score
20084 @findex gnus-info-set-score
20085 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
20087 @item gnus-info-read
20088 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
20089 @findex gnus-info-read
20090 @findex gnus-info-set-read
20091 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
20093 @item gnus-info-marks
20094 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
20095 @findex gnus-info-marks
20096 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
20097 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
20099 @item gnus-info-method
20100 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
20101 @findex gnus-info-method
20102 @findex gnus-info-set-method
20103 Get/set the group select method.
20105 @item gnus-info-params
20106 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
20107 @findex gnus-info-params
20108 @findex gnus-info-set-params
20109 Get/set the group parameters.
20112 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
20113 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
20115 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
20116 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
20117 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
20118 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
20121 @node Extended Interactive
20122 @subsection Extended Interactive
20123 @cindex interactive
20124 @findex gnus-interactive
20126 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
20127 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
20128 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
20131 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
20132 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
20137 The best thing to do would have been to implement
20138 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
20139 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
20140 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
20141 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
20142 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
20143 @code{interactive}.
20145 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
20150 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
20151 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
20155 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
20156 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
20157 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
20160 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
20164 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
20168 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
20174 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
20175 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
20179 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
20180 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
20181 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
20183 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
20184 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
20185 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
20186 Gnus, that's very useful.
20188 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
20189 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
20190 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
20191 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
20192 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
20193 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
20194 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
20195 following function:
20198 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
20202 (,function ,@@args))
20206 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
20207 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
20208 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
20211 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
20212 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
20213 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
20215 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
20216 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
20217 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
20220 @node Various File Formats
20221 @subsection Various File Formats
20224 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
20225 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
20229 @node Active File Format
20230 @subsubsection Active File Format
20232 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
20233 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
20236 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
20239 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
20240 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
20241 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
20242 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
20243 no.general 1000 900 y
20246 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
20249 active = *group-line
20250 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
20251 group = <non-white-space string>
20253 high-number = <non-negative integer>
20254 low-number = <positive integer>
20255 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
20258 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
20259 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
20262 @node Newsgroups File Format
20263 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
20265 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
20266 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
20267 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
20270 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
20271 Here's the definition:
20275 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
20276 group = <non-white-space string>
20278 description = <string>
20283 @node Emacs for Heathens
20284 @section Emacs for Heathens
20286 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
20287 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
20288 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
20289 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
20290 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
20291 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
20292 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
20296 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
20297 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
20302 @subsection Keystrokes
20306 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
20309 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
20312 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
20313 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
20314 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
20315 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
20316 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
20317 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
20319 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
20320 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
20321 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
20322 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
20323 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
20324 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
20325 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
20327 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
20328 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
20329 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
20330 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
20331 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
20332 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
20333 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
20335 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
20336 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
20337 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
20338 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
20339 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
20345 @subsection Emacs Lisp
20347 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
20348 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
20349 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
20350 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
20352 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
20353 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
20354 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
20355 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
20356 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
20357 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
20358 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
20361 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
20362 write the following:
20365 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
20368 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
20369 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
20370 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
20373 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
20374 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
20375 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
20376 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
20377 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
20379 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
20380 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
20381 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
20385 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
20389 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
20392 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
20393 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
20396 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
20399 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
20400 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
20403 @include gnus-faq.texi