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9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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265 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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274 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
276 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
277 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
278 are preserved on all copies.
280 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
281 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
282 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
283 permission notice identical to this one.
285 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
286 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
295 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
297 Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
299 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
300 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
301 are preserved on all copies.
304 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
305 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
306 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
307 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
310 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
311 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
312 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
313 permission notice identical to this one.
315 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
316 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
322 @title T-gnus 6.14 Manual
324 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
327 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
328 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
330 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
331 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
332 are preserved on all copies.
334 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
335 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
336 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
337 permission notice identical to this one.
339 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
340 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
349 @top The gnus Newsreader
353 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
354 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
355 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
358 T-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So T-gnus supports
359 your right to read strange messages including big images or other
360 various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
361 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
362 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
363 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
365 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.14.
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 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.
411 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
415 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
416 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
417 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
418 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
419 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
420 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
421 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
422 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
423 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
424 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
425 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
429 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
430 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
431 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
435 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
436 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
437 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
438 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
439 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
440 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
441 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
442 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
443 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
444 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
445 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
446 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
447 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
448 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
449 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
450 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
451 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
455 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
456 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
457 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
461 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
462 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
463 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
464 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
465 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
469 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
470 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
471 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
472 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
476 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
477 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
478 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
479 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
480 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
481 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
482 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
483 * Threading:: How threads are made.
484 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
485 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
486 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
487 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
488 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
489 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
490 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
491 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
492 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
493 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
494 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
495 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
496 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
497 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
498 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
499 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
500 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
501 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
502 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
503 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
505 Summary Buffer Format
507 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
508 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
509 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
510 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
514 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
515 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
517 Reply, Followup and Post
519 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
520 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
521 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
522 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
526 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
527 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
528 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
532 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
533 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
534 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
538 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
539 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
541 Customizing Threading
543 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
544 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
545 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
546 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
550 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
551 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
552 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
553 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
554 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
555 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
559 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
560 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
561 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
565 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
566 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
567 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
568 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
569 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
570 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
571 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
572 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
574 Alternative Approaches
576 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
577 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
579 Various Summary Stuff
581 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
582 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
583 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
584 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
588 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
589 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
590 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
591 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
592 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
596 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
597 * Post:: Posting and following up.
598 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
599 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
600 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
601 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
602 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
603 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
607 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
608 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
609 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
610 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
611 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
612 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
613 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
617 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
618 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
619 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
620 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
621 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
622 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
623 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
627 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
628 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
632 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
633 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
634 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
635 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
636 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
637 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
638 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
639 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
640 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
641 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
642 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
643 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
644 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
648 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
649 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
650 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
652 Choosing a Mail Backend
654 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
655 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
656 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
657 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
658 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
659 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
663 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
664 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
665 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
666 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
670 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
671 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
672 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
673 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
674 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
675 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
679 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
683 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
684 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
685 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
689 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
690 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
691 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
695 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
696 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
700 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
701 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
702 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
703 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
704 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
705 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
706 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
707 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
708 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
712 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
713 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
714 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
718 * Group Agent Commands::
719 * Summary Agent Commands::
720 * Server Agent Commands::
724 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
725 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
726 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
727 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
728 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
729 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
730 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
731 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
732 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
733 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
734 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
735 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
736 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
737 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
738 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
739 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
743 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
744 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
745 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
746 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
750 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
751 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
752 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
756 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
757 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
758 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
759 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
760 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
761 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
762 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
763 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
764 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
765 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
766 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
767 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
768 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
769 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
770 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
771 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
772 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
773 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
777 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
778 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
779 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
780 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
781 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
785 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
786 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
787 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
788 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
792 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
793 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
794 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
795 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
796 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
800 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
801 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
802 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
803 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
804 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
805 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
806 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
807 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
811 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
812 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
813 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
814 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
815 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
816 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
817 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
818 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
819 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
820 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
824 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
825 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
826 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
827 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
831 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
832 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
833 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
834 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
838 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
839 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
840 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
841 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
842 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
843 * Group Info:: The group info format.
844 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
845 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
846 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
850 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
851 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
852 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
853 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
854 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
855 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
859 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
860 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
864 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
865 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
871 @chapter Starting gnus
876 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
877 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
880 @findex gnus-other-frame
881 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
882 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
883 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
885 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
886 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
887 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
889 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
890 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
893 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
894 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
895 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
896 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
897 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
898 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
899 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
900 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
901 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
902 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
903 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
907 @node Finding the News
908 @section Finding the News
911 @vindex gnus-select-method
913 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
914 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
915 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
916 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
919 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
920 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
923 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
926 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
929 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
932 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
933 certainly be much faster.
935 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
937 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
938 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
939 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
940 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
941 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
942 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
944 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
945 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
946 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
947 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
949 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
950 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
951 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
952 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
953 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
954 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
955 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
956 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
957 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
960 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
962 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
963 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
964 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
965 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
966 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
967 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
969 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
971 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
972 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
973 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
974 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
975 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
976 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
979 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
980 would typically set this variable to
983 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
988 @section The First Time
989 @cindex first time usage
991 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
992 be subscribed by default.
994 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
995 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
996 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
997 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1000 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1001 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1002 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1004 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1005 help you with most common problems.
1007 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1008 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1012 @node The Server is Down
1013 @section The Server is Down
1014 @cindex server errors
1016 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1017 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1018 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1020 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1021 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1022 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1023 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1024 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1025 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1026 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1028 @findex gnus-no-server
1029 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1031 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1032 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1033 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1034 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1035 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1036 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1041 @section Slave Gnusae
1044 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1045 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1046 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1047 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1049 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1050 @code{.newsrc} file.
1052 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1053 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1054 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1055 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1056 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1057 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1058 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1060 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1061 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1062 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1063 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1064 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1065 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1066 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1067 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1069 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1070 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1073 @node Fetching a Group
1074 @section Fetching a Group
1075 @cindex fetching a group
1077 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1078 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1079 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1080 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1081 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1082 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1088 @cindex subscription
1090 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1091 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1092 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1093 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1094 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1095 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1096 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1097 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1098 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1101 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1102 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
1103 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
1107 @node Checking New Groups
1108 @subsection Checking New Groups
1110 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1111 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1112 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1113 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1114 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1115 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1116 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1117 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1118 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1119 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1121 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1122 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1123 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1124 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1125 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1126 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1127 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1128 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1129 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1130 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1131 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1133 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1134 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1135 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1136 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1137 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1138 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1141 @node Subscription Methods
1142 @subsection Subscription Methods
1144 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1145 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1146 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1148 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1149 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1151 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1155 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1156 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1157 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1158 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1159 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1161 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1162 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1163 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1164 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1166 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1167 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1168 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1170 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1171 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1172 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1173 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1174 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1175 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1176 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1177 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1178 up. Or something like that.
1180 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1181 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1182 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1183 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1184 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1186 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1187 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1188 Kill all new groups.
1190 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1191 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1192 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1193 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1194 topic parameter that looks like
1200 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1203 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1208 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1209 A closely related variable is
1210 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1211 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1212 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1213 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1216 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1217 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1218 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1219 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1222 @node Filtering New Groups
1223 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1225 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1226 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1227 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1230 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1234 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1235 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1236 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1237 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1238 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1239 subscribing these groups.
1240 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1241 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1243 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1244 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1245 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1246 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1247 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1248 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1249 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1250 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1252 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1253 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1254 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1255 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1256 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1257 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1258 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1259 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1260 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1261 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1263 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1264 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1267 @node Changing Servers
1268 @section Changing Servers
1269 @cindex changing servers
1271 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1272 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1273 very flaky and you want to use another.
1275 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1276 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1280 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1281 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1282 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1283 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1286 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1287 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1288 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1289 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1291 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1292 @findex gnus-change-server
1293 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1294 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1295 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1296 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1297 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1299 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1300 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1301 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1302 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1303 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1305 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1306 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1307 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1308 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1309 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1310 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1312 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1313 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1314 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1318 @section Startup Files
1319 @cindex startup files
1324 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1325 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1327 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1328 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1329 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1330 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1331 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1332 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1333 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1335 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1336 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1337 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1338 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1339 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1340 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1342 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1343 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1344 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1345 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1346 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1347 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1348 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1349 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1350 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1351 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1353 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1354 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1355 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1356 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1357 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1358 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1359 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1360 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1361 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1362 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1363 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1364 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1366 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1367 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1368 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1369 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1371 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1372 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1373 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1374 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1375 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1376 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1377 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1378 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1379 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1380 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1383 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1384 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1386 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1387 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1390 @vindex gnus-init-file
1391 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1392 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1393 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1394 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1395 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1396 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1397 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1398 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1399 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1405 @cindex dribble file
1408 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1409 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1410 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1411 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1412 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1415 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1416 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1419 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1420 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1421 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1423 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1424 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1425 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1426 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1427 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1428 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1430 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1431 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1432 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1435 @node The Active File
1436 @section The Active File
1438 @cindex ignored groups
1440 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1441 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1442 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1444 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1445 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1446 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1447 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1448 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1449 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1450 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1453 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1454 @c if you set it to anything else.
1456 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1458 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1459 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1460 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1462 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1463 you actually subscribe to.
1465 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1466 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1467 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1468 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1470 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1471 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1472 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1473 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1474 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1475 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1477 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1478 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1479 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1481 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1482 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1483 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1484 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1485 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1486 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1488 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1489 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1491 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1492 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1494 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1495 secondary select methods.
1498 @node Startup Variables
1499 @section Startup Variables
1503 @item gnus-load-hook
1504 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1505 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1506 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1507 times you start gnus.
1509 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1510 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1511 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1513 @item gnus-startup-hook
1514 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1515 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1517 @item gnus-started-hook
1518 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1519 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1522 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1523 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1524 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1525 generating the group buffer.
1527 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1528 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1529 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1530 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1531 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1532 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1533 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1534 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1536 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1537 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1538 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1539 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1540 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1541 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1543 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1544 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1545 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1547 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1548 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1549 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1551 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1552 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1553 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1554 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1559 @node The Group Buffer
1560 @chapter The Group Buffer
1561 @cindex group buffer
1563 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1564 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1565 long as gnus is active.
1569 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1570 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1571 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1572 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1573 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1574 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1575 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1576 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1582 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1583 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1584 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1585 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1586 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1587 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1588 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1589 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1590 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1591 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1592 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1593 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1594 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1595 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1596 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1597 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1598 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1602 @node Group Buffer Format
1603 @section Group Buffer Format
1606 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1607 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1608 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1612 @node Group Line Specification
1613 @subsection Group Line Specification
1614 @cindex group buffer format
1616 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1617 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1619 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1622 25: news.announce.newusers
1623 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1628 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1629 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1630 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1631 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1633 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1634 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1635 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1636 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1637 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1638 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1640 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1642 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1643 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1644 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1645 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1648 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1649 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1650 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1652 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1657 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1660 Whether the group is subscribed.
1663 Level of subscribedness.
1666 Number of unread articles.
1669 Number of dormant articles.
1672 Number of ticked articles.
1675 Number of read articles.
1678 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1679 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1682 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1685 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1694 Newsgroup description.
1697 @samp{m} if moderated.
1700 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1709 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1713 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1716 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1717 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1718 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1719 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1720 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1723 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1725 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1729 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1733 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1734 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1735 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1736 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1737 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1738 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1743 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1744 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1745 group, or a bogus native group.
1748 @node Group Modeline Specification
1749 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1750 @cindex group modeline
1752 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1753 The mode line can be changed by setting
1754 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1755 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1759 The native news server.
1761 The native select method.
1765 @node Group Highlighting
1766 @subsection Group Highlighting
1767 @cindex highlighting
1768 @cindex group highlighting
1770 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1771 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1772 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1773 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1774 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1776 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1780 (cond (window-system
1781 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1782 (defface my-group-face-1
1783 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1784 (defface my-group-face-2
1785 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1786 (defface my-group-face-3
1787 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1788 (defface my-group-face-4
1789 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1790 (defface my-group-face-5
1791 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1793 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1794 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1795 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1796 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1797 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1798 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1801 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1803 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1810 The number of unread articles in the group.
1814 Whether the group is a mail group.
1816 The level of the group.
1818 The score of the group.
1820 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1822 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1823 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1825 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1826 topic being inserted.
1829 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1830 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1831 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1833 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1834 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1835 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1836 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1837 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1840 @node Group Maneuvering
1841 @section Group Maneuvering
1842 @cindex group movement
1844 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1845 expected, hopefully.
1851 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1852 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1853 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1859 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1860 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1861 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1865 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1866 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1870 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1871 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1875 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1876 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1877 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1881 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1882 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1883 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1886 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1892 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1893 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1894 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1899 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1900 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1901 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1905 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1906 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1907 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1910 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1911 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1912 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1913 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1917 @node Selecting a Group
1918 @section Selecting a Group
1919 @cindex group selection
1924 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1925 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1926 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1927 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1928 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1929 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1930 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1931 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1932 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1933 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1937 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1938 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1939 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1940 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1941 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1945 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1946 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1947 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1948 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1949 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1950 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1951 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1952 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1953 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1954 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1957 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1958 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1959 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1960 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1961 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1964 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1965 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1966 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1967 doing any processing of its contents
1968 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1969 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1970 manner will have no permanent effects.
1974 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1975 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1976 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1977 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1978 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1979 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1980 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1981 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1984 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1985 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1986 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1987 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1992 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1993 full summary buffer.
1996 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1999 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2004 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2005 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2006 Useful functions include:
2009 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2010 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2011 don't select the article.
2013 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2014 Select the first unread article.
2016 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2017 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2021 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2022 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2023 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2027 @node Subscription Commands
2028 @section Subscription Commands
2029 @cindex subscription
2037 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2038 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2039 Toggle subscription to the current group
2040 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2046 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2047 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2048 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2049 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2055 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2056 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2057 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2063 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2064 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2067 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2068 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2069 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2070 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2071 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2077 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2078 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2082 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2083 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2086 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2087 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2088 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2089 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2090 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2091 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2092 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2093 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2094 @file{.newsrc} file.
2098 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2108 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2109 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2110 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2111 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2112 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2113 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2118 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2119 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2120 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2124 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2125 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2126 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2128 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2129 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2130 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2131 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2132 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2133 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2140 @section Group Levels
2144 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2145 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2146 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2147 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2148 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2150 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2156 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2157 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2158 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2159 prompted for a level.
2162 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2163 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2164 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2165 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2166 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2167 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2168 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2169 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2170 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2171 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2172 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2173 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2174 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2175 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2176 reasons of efficiency.
2178 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2179 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2181 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2182 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2183 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2185 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2186 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2187 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2188 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2189 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2190 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2191 relevant valid ranges.
2193 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2194 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2195 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2196 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2197 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2198 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2201 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2202 one with the best level.
2204 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2205 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2206 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2209 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2210 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2211 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2212 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2215 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2216 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2217 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2218 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2220 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2221 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2222 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2223 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2224 to 5. The default is 6.
2228 @section Group Score
2233 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2234 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2235 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2238 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2239 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2240 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2241 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2242 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2243 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2244 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2245 least significant part.))
2247 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2248 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2249 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2250 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2251 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2252 action after each summary exit, you can add
2253 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2254 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2255 slow things down somewhat.
2258 @node Marking Groups
2259 @section Marking Groups
2260 @cindex marking groups
2262 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2263 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2264 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2265 bidding on those groups.
2267 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2268 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2269 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2277 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2278 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2284 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2285 Remove the mark from the current group
2286 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2290 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2291 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2295 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2296 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2300 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2301 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2305 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2306 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2307 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2310 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2312 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2313 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2314 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2315 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2316 the command to be executed.
2319 @node Foreign Groups
2320 @section Foreign Groups
2321 @cindex foreign groups
2323 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2324 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2325 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2326 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2333 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2334 @cindex making groups
2335 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2336 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2337 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2341 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2342 @cindex renaming groups
2343 Rename the current group to something else
2344 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2345 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2351 @findex gnus-group-customize
2352 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2356 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2357 @cindex renaming groups
2358 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2359 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2363 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2364 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2365 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2369 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2370 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2371 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2375 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2377 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2378 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2383 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2384 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2388 @cindex (ding) archive
2389 @cindex archive group
2390 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2391 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2392 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2393 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2394 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2395 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2396 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2400 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2402 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2403 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2404 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2405 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2409 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2411 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2412 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2413 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2417 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2418 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2420 Make a group based on some file or other
2421 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2422 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2423 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2424 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2425 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2426 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2427 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2431 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2432 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2433 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2434 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2438 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2443 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2444 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2445 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2446 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2447 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2448 @xref{Web Searches}.
2450 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2451 to a particular group by using a match string like
2452 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2455 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2456 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2457 This function will delete the current group
2458 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2459 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2460 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2461 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2462 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2466 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2467 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2468 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2472 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2473 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2474 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2477 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2480 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2481 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2482 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2483 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2484 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2485 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2489 @node Group Parameters
2490 @section Group Parameters
2491 @cindex group parameters
2493 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2494 Here's an example group parameter list:
2497 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2501 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2502 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2503 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2504 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2506 The following group parameters can be used:
2511 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2514 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2517 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2518 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2519 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2520 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2521 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2523 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2524 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2525 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2526 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2527 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2528 list address instead.
2532 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2535 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2538 It is totally ignored
2539 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2540 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2542 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2543 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2544 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2545 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2546 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2548 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2549 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2550 sending the message.
2554 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2555 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2556 of whether it has any unread articles.
2558 @item broken-reply-to
2559 @cindex broken-reply-to
2560 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2561 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2562 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2563 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2564 broken behavior. So there!
2568 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2569 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2573 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2574 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2575 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2580 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2581 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2582 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2583 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2584 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2585 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2586 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2590 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2591 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2592 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2595 @cindex total-expire
2596 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2597 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2598 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2599 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2604 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2605 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2606 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2607 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2608 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2609 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2612 @cindex score file group parameter
2613 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2614 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2615 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2618 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2619 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2620 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2621 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2624 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2625 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2626 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2627 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2630 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2631 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2635 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2638 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2643 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2644 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2645 gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2649 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2650 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2651 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2653 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2654 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2655 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2656 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2657 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2658 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2659 @code{eval}ed there.
2661 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2662 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2663 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2664 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2665 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2668 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2669 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2670 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2671 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2672 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2674 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2675 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2676 like this in the group parameters:
2681 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2686 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2687 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2691 @node Listing Groups
2692 @section Listing Groups
2693 @cindex group listing
2695 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2703 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2704 List all groups that have unread articles
2705 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2706 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2707 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2708 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2715 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2716 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2717 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2718 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2719 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2720 unsubscribed groups).
2724 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2725 List all unread groups on a specific level
2726 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2727 with no unread articles.
2731 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2732 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2733 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2734 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2739 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2740 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2744 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2745 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2746 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2750 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2751 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2755 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2756 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2757 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2758 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2759 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2760 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2761 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2762 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2766 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2767 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2768 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2772 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2773 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2774 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2778 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2779 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2783 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2784 @cindex visible group parameter
2785 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2786 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2787 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2788 get the same effect.
2790 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2791 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2792 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2793 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2794 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2797 @node Sorting Groups
2798 @section Sorting Groups
2799 @cindex sorting groups
2801 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2802 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2803 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2804 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2805 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2806 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2811 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2812 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2813 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2815 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2816 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2817 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2819 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2820 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2821 Sort by group level.
2823 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2824 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2825 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2827 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2828 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2829 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2830 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2832 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2833 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2834 Sort by number of unread articles.
2836 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2837 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2838 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2843 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2844 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2848 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2849 some sorting criteria:
2853 @kindex G S a (Group)
2854 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2855 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2856 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2859 @kindex G S u (Group)
2860 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2861 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2862 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2865 @kindex G S l (Group)
2866 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2867 Sort the group buffer by group level
2868 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2871 @kindex G S v (Group)
2872 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2873 Sort the group buffer by group score
2874 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2877 @kindex G S r (Group)
2878 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2879 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2880 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2883 @kindex G S m (Group)
2884 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2885 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2886 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2890 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2891 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2893 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2894 commands will sort in reverse order.
2896 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2900 @kindex G P a (Group)
2901 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2902 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2903 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2906 @kindex G P u (Group)
2907 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2908 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2909 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2912 @kindex G P l (Group)
2913 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2914 Sort the groups by group level
2915 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2918 @kindex G P v (Group)
2919 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2920 Sort the groups by group score
2921 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2924 @kindex G P r (Group)
2925 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2926 Sort the groups by group rank
2927 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2930 @kindex G P m (Group)
2931 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2932 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2933 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2939 @node Group Maintenance
2940 @section Group Maintenance
2941 @cindex bogus groups
2946 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2947 Find bogus groups and delete them
2948 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2952 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2953 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2954 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2955 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2956 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2960 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2961 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2962 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2963 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2966 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2967 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2968 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2969 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2974 @node Browse Foreign Server
2975 @section Browse Foreign Server
2976 @cindex foreign servers
2977 @cindex browsing servers
2982 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2983 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2984 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2985 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2988 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2989 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2990 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2991 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2993 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2998 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2999 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3003 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3004 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3007 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3008 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3009 Enter the current group and display the first article
3010 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3013 @kindex RET (Browse)
3014 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3015 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3019 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3020 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3021 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3027 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3028 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3032 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3033 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3034 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3039 @section Exiting gnus
3040 @cindex exiting gnus
3042 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3047 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3048 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3049 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3050 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3054 @findex gnus-group-exit
3055 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3056 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3060 @findex gnus-group-quit
3061 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3062 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3065 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3066 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3067 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3068 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3069 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3074 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3075 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3076 trying to customize meta-variables.
3081 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3082 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3083 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3089 @section Group Topics
3092 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3093 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3094 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3095 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3096 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3097 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3101 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3102 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3113 2: alt.religion.emacs
3116 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3118 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3119 13: comp.sources.unix
3122 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3124 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3125 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3126 is a toggling command.)
3128 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3129 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3130 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3131 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3134 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3135 the hook for the group mode:
3138 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3142 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3143 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3144 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3145 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3146 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3150 @node Topic Variables
3151 @subsection Topic Variables
3152 @cindex topic variables
3154 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3155 really neat, I think.
3157 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3158 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3159 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3172 Number of groups in the topic.
3174 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3176 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3179 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3180 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3181 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3184 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3185 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3187 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3188 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3189 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3192 @node Topic Commands
3193 @subsection Topic Commands
3194 @cindex topic commands
3196 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3197 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3198 definitions slightly.
3204 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3205 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3206 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3210 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3211 Move the current group to some other topic
3212 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3213 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3217 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3218 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3222 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3223 Copy the current group to some other topic
3224 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3225 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3229 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3230 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3231 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3232 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3233 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3234 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3235 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3238 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3239 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3243 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3244 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3245 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3249 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3250 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3251 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3255 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3256 Toggle hiding empty topics
3257 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3261 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3262 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3263 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3266 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3267 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3268 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3269 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3273 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3275 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3276 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3277 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3278 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3281 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3282 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3283 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3284 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3288 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3290 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3291 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3292 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3293 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3294 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3295 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3298 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3299 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3300 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3301 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3305 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3306 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3307 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3311 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3312 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3313 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3318 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3319 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3322 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3323 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3324 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3328 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3329 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3330 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3334 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3335 @cindex group parameters
3336 @cindex topic parameters
3338 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3339 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3345 @subsection Topic Sorting
3346 @cindex topic sorting
3348 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3354 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3355 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3356 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3357 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3360 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3361 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3362 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3363 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3366 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3367 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3368 Sort the current topic by group level
3369 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3372 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3373 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3374 Sort the current topic by group score
3375 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3378 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3379 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3380 Sort the current topic by group rank
3381 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3384 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3385 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3386 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3387 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3391 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3394 @node Topic Topology
3395 @subsection Topic Topology
3396 @cindex topic topology
3399 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3405 2: alt.religion.emacs
3408 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3410 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3411 13: comp.sources.unix
3414 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3415 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3416 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3421 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3422 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3426 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3427 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3428 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3429 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3430 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3431 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3433 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3434 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3435 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3438 @node Topic Parameters
3439 @subsection Topic Parameters
3440 @cindex topic parameters
3442 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3443 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3444 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3446 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3451 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3452 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3453 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3458 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3459 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3460 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3461 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3467 2: alt.religion.emacs
3471 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3473 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3474 13: comp.sources.unix
3478 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3479 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3480 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3481 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3482 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3483 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3485 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3486 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3487 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3488 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3489 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3491 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3492 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3493 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3494 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3495 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3496 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3497 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3498 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3501 @node Misc Group Stuff
3502 @section Misc Group Stuff
3505 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3506 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
3507 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3508 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
3515 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3516 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3517 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3521 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3522 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3523 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3527 @findex gnus-group-mail
3528 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3532 Variables for the group buffer:
3536 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3537 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3538 is called after the group buffer has been
3541 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3542 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3543 is called after the group buffer is
3544 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3547 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3548 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3549 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3550 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3552 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3553 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3554 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3555 whether they are empty or not.
3560 @node Scanning New Messages
3561 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3562 @cindex new messages
3563 @cindex scanning new news
3569 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3570 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3571 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3572 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3573 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3574 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3579 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3580 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3581 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3582 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3583 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3584 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3585 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3587 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3588 @cindex activating groups
3590 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3591 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3596 @findex gnus-group-restart
3597 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3598 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3599 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3603 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3604 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3606 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3607 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3611 @node Group Information
3612 @subsection Group Information
3613 @cindex group information
3614 @cindex information on groups
3621 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3622 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3625 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3626 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3627 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3628 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3629 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3630 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3631 for fetching the file.
3633 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3634 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3638 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3640 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3641 @cindex describing groups
3642 @cindex group description
3643 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3644 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3645 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3649 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3650 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3651 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3658 @findex gnus-version
3659 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3663 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3664 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3667 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3670 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3671 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3675 @node Group Timestamp
3676 @subsection Group Timestamp
3678 @cindex group timestamps
3680 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3681 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3682 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3685 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3688 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3690 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3691 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3694 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3695 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3698 This will result in lines looking like:
3701 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3702 0: custom 19961002T012713
3705 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3706 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3710 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3711 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3716 @subsection File Commands
3717 @cindex file commands
3723 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3724 @vindex gnus-init-file
3725 @cindex reading init file
3726 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3727 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3731 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3732 @cindex saving .newsrc
3733 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3734 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3735 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3738 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3739 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3740 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3745 @node The Summary Buffer
3746 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3747 @cindex summary buffer
3749 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3750 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3752 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3753 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3755 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3758 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3759 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3760 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3761 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3762 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3763 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3764 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3765 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3766 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3767 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3768 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3769 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3770 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3771 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3772 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3773 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3774 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3775 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3776 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3777 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3778 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3779 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3780 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3781 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3782 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3783 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3784 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3785 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3789 @node Summary Buffer Format
3790 @section Summary Buffer Format
3791 @cindex summary buffer format
3795 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3796 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3797 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3803 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3804 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3805 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3806 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3809 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3810 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3811 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3812 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3813 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3814 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3815 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3816 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3817 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3818 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3819 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3820 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3821 other function instead:
3824 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3825 'mail-extract-address-components)
3828 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3829 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3830 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3831 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3834 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3835 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3837 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3838 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3839 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3840 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3841 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3843 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3845 The following format specification characters are understood:
3851 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3852 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3854 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3855 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3856 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3858 Full @code{From} header.
3860 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3862 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3863 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3865 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3866 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3867 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3868 may be more thorough.
3870 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3873 Number of lines in the article.
3875 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3876 methods (like nnfolder).
3878 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3880 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3881 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3883 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3884 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3886 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3887 for adopted articles.
3889 One space for each thread level.
3891 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3896 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3897 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3901 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3903 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3904 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3905 default level. If the difference between
3906 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3907 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3915 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3917 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3923 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3924 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3926 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3927 article has any children.
3933 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3934 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3935 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3936 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3937 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3938 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3941 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3942 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
3943 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3944 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3945 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3946 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3948 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3949 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3951 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
3954 @node To From Newsgroups
3955 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3959 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3960 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3961 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3962 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3963 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3967 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3968 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3969 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3973 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3974 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3977 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3978 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
3981 @findex gnus-extra-header
3982 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
3983 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
3984 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
3987 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
3991 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3992 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
3993 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
3994 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
3995 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
3996 headers are used instead.
4000 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4001 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4002 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4003 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4006 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4007 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4008 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4009 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4011 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4014 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4016 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4017 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4018 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4019 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4023 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4024 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4031 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4032 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4035 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4036 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4038 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4039 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4040 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4041 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4043 Here are the elements you can play with:
4049 Unprefixed group name.
4051 Current article number.
4053 Current article score.
4057 Number of unread articles in this group.
4059 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4062 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4063 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4064 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4065 and no unselected ones.
4067 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4068 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4070 Subject of the current article.
4072 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4074 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4076 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4078 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4080 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4082 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4086 @node Summary Highlighting
4087 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4091 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4092 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4093 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4094 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4095 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4097 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4098 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4099 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4100 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4102 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4103 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4104 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4105 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4107 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4108 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4109 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4110 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4111 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4112 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4115 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4116 ((> score default) . bold))
4118 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4119 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4123 @node Summary Maneuvering
4124 @section Summary Maneuvering
4125 @cindex summary movement
4127 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4128 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4130 None of these commands select articles.
4135 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4136 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4137 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4138 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4139 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4143 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4144 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4145 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4146 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4147 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4152 @kindex G j (Summary)
4153 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4154 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4155 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4158 @kindex G g (Summary)
4159 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4160 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4161 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4164 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4165 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4166 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4167 to the group buffer.
4169 Variables related to summary movement:
4173 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4174 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4175 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4176 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4177 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4178 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4179 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4180 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4181 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
4182 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4183 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4184 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4185 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4186 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4188 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4189 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4190 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4191 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4192 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4193 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4194 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4196 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4198 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4199 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4200 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4201 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4202 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4204 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4205 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4206 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4207 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4208 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4209 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4210 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4211 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4214 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4215 the given number of lines from the top.
4220 @node Choosing Articles
4221 @section Choosing Articles
4222 @cindex selecting articles
4225 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4226 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4230 @node Choosing Commands
4231 @subsection Choosing Commands
4233 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4234 and they all select and display an article.
4238 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4239 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4240 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4241 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4246 @kindex G n (Summary)
4247 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4248 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4249 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4254 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4255 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4256 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4261 @kindex G N (Summary)
4262 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4263 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4268 @kindex G P (Summary)
4269 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4270 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4273 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4274 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4275 Go to the next article with the same subject
4276 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4279 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4280 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4281 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4282 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4286 @kindex G f (Summary)
4288 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4289 Go to the first unread article
4290 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4294 @kindex G b (Summary)
4296 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4297 Go to the article with the highest score
4298 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4303 @kindex G l (Summary)
4304 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4305 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4308 @kindex G o (Summary)
4309 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4311 @cindex article history
4312 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4313 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4314 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4315 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4316 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4317 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4321 @node Choosing Variables
4322 @subsection Choosing Variables
4324 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4327 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4328 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4329 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4330 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4331 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4332 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4334 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4335 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4336 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4337 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4339 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4340 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4341 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4342 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4343 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4344 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4345 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4346 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4347 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4348 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4349 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4350 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4351 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4352 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4357 @node Paging the Article
4358 @section Scrolling the Article
4359 @cindex article scrolling
4364 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4365 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4366 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4367 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4368 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4371 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4372 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4373 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4376 @kindex RET (Summary)
4377 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4378 Scroll the current article one line forward
4379 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4382 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4383 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4384 Scroll the current article one line backward
4385 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4389 @kindex A g (Summary)
4391 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4392 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4393 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4394 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4395 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4396 the way it came from the server.
4398 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4399 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4400 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4403 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4408 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4413 @kindex A < (Summary)
4414 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4415 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4416 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4421 @kindex A > (Summary)
4422 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4423 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4427 @kindex A s (Summary)
4429 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4430 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4431 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4435 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4436 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4441 @node Reply Followup and Post
4442 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4445 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4446 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4447 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4448 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4452 @node Summary Mail Commands
4453 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4455 @cindex composing mail
4457 Commands for composing a mail message:
4463 @kindex S r (Summary)
4465 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4466 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4467 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4468 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4469 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4474 @kindex S R (Summary)
4475 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4476 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4477 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4478 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4479 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4482 @kindex S w (Summary)
4483 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4484 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4485 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4486 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4487 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4490 @kindex S W (Summary)
4491 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4492 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4493 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4494 the process/prefix convention.
4497 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4498 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4499 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4500 Forward the current article to some other person
4501 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4502 headers of the forwarded article.
4507 @kindex S m (Summary)
4508 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4509 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4510 Send a mail to some other person
4511 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4514 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4515 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4516 @cindex bouncing mail
4517 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4518 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4519 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4520 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4521 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4522 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
4523 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4524 very well fail, though.
4527 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4528 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4529 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4530 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4531 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4532 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4533 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4534 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4535 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4536 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4538 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4539 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4540 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4541 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4542 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4544 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4545 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4548 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4549 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4550 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4551 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4552 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4555 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4556 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4557 @cindex crossposting
4558 @cindex excessive crossposting
4559 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4560 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4562 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4563 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4564 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4565 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4566 command understands the process/prefix convention
4567 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4571 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4574 @node Summary Post Commands
4575 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4577 @cindex composing news
4579 Commands for posting a news article:
4585 @kindex S p (Summary)
4586 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4587 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4588 Post an article to the current group
4589 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4594 @kindex S f (Summary)
4595 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4596 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4597 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4601 @kindex S F (Summary)
4603 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4604 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4605 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4606 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4607 process/prefix convention.
4610 @kindex S n (Summary)
4611 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4612 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4613 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4616 @kindex S N (Summary)
4617 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4618 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4619 message through mail and include the original message
4620 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4621 the process/prefix convention.
4624 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4625 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4626 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4627 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4628 headers of the forwarded article.
4631 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4632 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4634 @cindex making digests
4635 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4636 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4637 process/prefix convention.
4640 @kindex S u (Summary)
4641 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4642 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4643 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4644 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4647 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4650 @node Summary Message Commands
4651 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4655 @kindex S y (Summary)
4656 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4657 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4658 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4659 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4660 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4665 @node Canceling and Superseding
4666 @subsection Canceling Articles
4667 @cindex canceling articles
4668 @cindex superseding articles
4670 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4671 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4673 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4675 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4677 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4678 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4679 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4680 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4681 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4682 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4684 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4685 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4688 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4689 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4690 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4692 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4693 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4694 your original article.
4696 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4698 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4699 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4700 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4703 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4704 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4705 have posted almost the same article twice.
4707 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4708 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4709 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4710 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4711 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4712 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4713 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4714 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4715 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4716 canceled/superseded.
4718 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4721 @node Marking Articles
4722 @section Marking Articles
4723 @cindex article marking
4724 @cindex article ticking
4727 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4729 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4730 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4731 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4733 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4736 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4737 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4738 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4742 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4746 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4747 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4748 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4752 @node Unread Articles
4753 @subsection Unread Articles
4755 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4760 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4761 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4763 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4764 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4765 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4766 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4767 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4771 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4772 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4774 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4775 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4776 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4779 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4780 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4782 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4787 @subsection Read Articles
4788 @cindex expirable mark
4790 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4795 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4796 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4797 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4800 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4801 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4804 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4805 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4806 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4809 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4810 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4813 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4814 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4817 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4818 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4821 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4822 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4825 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4826 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4829 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4830 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4833 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4834 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4838 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4839 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4840 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4844 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4845 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4847 One more special mark, though:
4851 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4852 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4854 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4855 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4856 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4857 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
4863 @subsection Other Marks
4864 @cindex process mark
4867 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4873 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4874 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4875 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4876 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4877 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4880 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4881 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4882 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4883 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4886 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4887 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4888 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4891 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4892 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4893 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4894 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4897 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4898 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4899 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4900 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4901 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4904 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4905 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4906 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4907 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4908 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4909 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4913 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4914 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4915 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4917 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4918 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4919 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4923 @subsection Setting Marks
4924 @cindex setting marks
4926 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4931 @kindex M c (Summary)
4932 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4933 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4934 @cindex mark as unread
4935 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4936 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4942 @kindex M t (Summary)
4943 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4944 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4945 @xref{Article Caching}.
4950 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4951 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4952 Mark the current article as dormant
4953 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4957 @kindex M d (Summary)
4959 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4960 Mark the current article as read
4961 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4965 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4966 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4967 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4972 @kindex M k (Summary)
4973 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4974 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4975 and then select the next unread article
4976 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4980 @kindex M K (Summary)
4981 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4983 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4984 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4987 @kindex M C (Summary)
4988 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4989 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4990 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4993 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4994 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4995 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4996 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4999 @kindex M H (Summary)
5000 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5001 Catchup the current group to point
5002 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5005 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5006 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5007 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5008 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5011 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5012 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5013 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5014 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5018 @kindex M e (Summary)
5020 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5021 Mark the current article as expirable
5022 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5025 @kindex M b (Summary)
5026 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5027 Set a bookmark in the current article
5028 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5031 @kindex M B (Summary)
5032 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5033 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5034 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5037 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5038 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5039 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5040 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5043 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5044 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5045 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5046 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5049 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5050 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5051 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5052 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5053 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5056 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5057 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5058 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5059 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5060 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5061 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5062 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5063 The default is @code{t}.
5066 @node Generic Marking Commands
5067 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5069 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5070 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5071 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5072 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5073 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5076 Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
5077 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5080 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5081 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5082 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5083 to list in this manual.
5085 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5086 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5087 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5088 article, you could say something like:
5091 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5092 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5093 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5099 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5100 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5104 @node Setting Process Marks
5105 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5106 @cindex setting process marks
5113 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5114 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5115 Mark the current article with the process mark
5116 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5117 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5121 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5122 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5123 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5124 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5127 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5128 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5129 Remove the process mark from all articles
5130 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5133 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5134 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5135 Invert the list of process marked articles
5136 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5139 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5140 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5141 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5142 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5145 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5146 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5147 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5148 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5151 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5152 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5153 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5156 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5157 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5158 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5159 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5162 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5163 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5164 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5165 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5168 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5169 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5170 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5171 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5174 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5175 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5176 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5179 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5180 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5181 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5182 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5185 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5186 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5187 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5190 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5192 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5193 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5196 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5197 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5198 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5199 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5202 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5204 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5205 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5208 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5209 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5210 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5211 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5220 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5221 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5222 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5225 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5226 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5227 additional articles.
5233 @kindex / / (Summary)
5234 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5235 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5236 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5239 @kindex / a (Summary)
5240 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5241 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5242 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5245 @kindex / x (Summary)
5246 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5247 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5248 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5249 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5253 @kindex / u (Summary)
5255 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5256 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5257 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5258 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5259 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5262 @kindex / m (Summary)
5263 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5264 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5265 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5268 @kindex / t (Summary)
5269 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5270 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5271 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5272 articles younger than that number of days.
5275 @kindex / n (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5277 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5278 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5279 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5282 @kindex / w (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5284 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5285 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5289 @kindex / v (Summary)
5290 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5291 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5292 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5296 @kindex M S (Summary)
5297 @kindex / E (Summary)
5298 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5299 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5300 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5303 @kindex / D (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5305 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5306 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5309 @kindex / * (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5311 Include all cached articles in the limit
5312 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5315 @kindex / d (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5317 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5318 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5321 @kindex / M (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5323 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5326 @kindex / T (Summary)
5327 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5328 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5331 @kindex / c (Summary)
5332 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5333 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5334 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5337 @kindex / C (Summary)
5338 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5339 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5340 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5341 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5349 @cindex article threading
5351 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5352 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5353 hierarchical fashion.
5355 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5356 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5357 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5358 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
5359 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5360 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5361 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5363 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5367 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5370 A tree-like article structure.
5373 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5376 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5377 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5378 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5379 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5380 called loose threads.
5382 @item thread gathering
5383 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5385 @item sparse threads
5386 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5387 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5393 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5394 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5398 @node Customizing Threading
5399 @subsection Customizing Threading
5400 @cindex customizing threading
5403 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5404 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5405 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5406 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5411 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5414 @cindex loose threads
5417 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5418 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5419 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5420 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5421 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5422 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5424 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
5425 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
5426 There are four possible values:
5430 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5431 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5432 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5433 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5434 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5439 @cindex adopting articles
5444 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5445 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5446 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5447 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5450 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5451 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5452 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5453 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5454 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5455 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5456 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5459 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5460 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5461 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5465 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5466 display them after one another.
5469 Don't gather loose threads.
5472 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5473 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5474 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5475 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
5476 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5477 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5478 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5479 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5480 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5481 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
5482 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5484 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5485 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
5486 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5489 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5490 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5491 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5492 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5493 simplification is used.
5495 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5496 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5497 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5498 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5500 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5502 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5508 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5509 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5510 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5511 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5516 (mapconcat 'identity
5517 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5519 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5522 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5525 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5526 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5527 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5528 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5529 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5530 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5532 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5535 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5536 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5537 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5539 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5540 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5543 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5544 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5545 Remove excessive whitespace.
5548 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5551 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5552 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5553 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5554 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5555 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5556 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5557 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5558 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5560 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5561 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5562 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5563 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5564 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5565 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5566 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5567 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5568 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5572 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5573 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5574 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5575 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5577 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5578 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5579 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5582 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5586 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5587 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5593 @node Filling In Threads
5594 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5597 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5598 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5599 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5600 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5601 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5602 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5603 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5604 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5605 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5606 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5607 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5608 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
5610 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5611 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5612 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5614 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5615 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5616 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5617 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5618 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5619 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5620 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
5621 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5622 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
5623 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
5624 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5625 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
5626 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5627 @code{nil} by default.
5632 @node More Threading
5633 @subsubsection More Threading
5636 @item gnus-show-threads
5637 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5638 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5639 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5640 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5641 slower and more awkward.
5643 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5644 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5645 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5648 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5649 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5650 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5651 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5652 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5653 threads are expunged.
5655 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5656 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5657 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5660 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5661 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5662 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5663 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5664 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5667 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5668 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5669 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5672 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5673 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5674 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5675 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5676 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5677 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5678 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5679 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5680 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5681 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5682 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5687 @node Low-Level Threading
5688 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5692 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5693 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5694 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
5695 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
5696 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
5697 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
5699 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5700 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5701 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5702 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5703 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5704 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5705 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5706 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5707 meaningful. Here's one example:
5710 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5712 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5713 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5715 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5717 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5724 @node Thread Commands
5725 @subsection Thread Commands
5726 @cindex thread commands
5732 @kindex T k (Summary)
5733 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5734 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5735 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5736 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5737 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5742 @kindex T l (Summary)
5743 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5744 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5745 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5746 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5749 @kindex T i (Summary)
5750 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5751 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5752 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5755 @kindex T # (Summary)
5756 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5757 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5758 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5761 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5762 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5763 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5764 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5767 @kindex T T (Summary)
5768 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5769 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5772 @kindex T s (Summary)
5773 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5774 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5775 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5778 @kindex T h (Summary)
5779 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5780 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5783 @kindex T S (Summary)
5784 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5785 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5788 @kindex T H (Summary)
5789 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5790 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5793 @kindex T t (Summary)
5794 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5795 Re-thread the current article's thread
5796 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5797 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5800 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5801 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5802 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5803 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5807 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5808 understand the numeric prefix.
5813 @kindex T n (Summary)
5815 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5817 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5818 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5819 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5822 @kindex T p (Summary)
5824 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5826 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5828 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5831 @kindex T d (Summary)
5832 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5833 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5836 @kindex T u (Summary)
5837 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5838 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5841 @kindex T o (Summary)
5842 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5843 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5846 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5847 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5848 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5849 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5850 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5851 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5852 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5853 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5854 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5855 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5856 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5857 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5864 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5865 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5866 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5867 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5868 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5869 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5870 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5871 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5872 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5873 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5874 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5876 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5877 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5878 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5879 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5880 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5882 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5883 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5884 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5886 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5887 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5888 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5889 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5890 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5891 ascending article order.
5893 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5894 by number, you could do something like:
5897 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5898 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5899 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5900 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5903 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5904 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5905 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5906 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5907 which the articles arrived.
5909 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5913 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5915 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5916 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5919 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5920 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5921 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5922 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5925 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5926 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5927 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5928 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5929 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5930 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5931 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5932 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5933 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5934 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5935 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5936 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5937 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5939 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5943 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5944 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5945 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5950 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5951 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5952 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5953 @cindex article pre-fetch
5956 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5957 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5958 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5959 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5960 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5962 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5963 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
5965 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5966 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5967 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5968 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5969 connection is blocked.
5971 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5972 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5973 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5974 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
5976 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5977 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5978 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5979 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5982 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5985 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5986 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5987 happen automatically.
5989 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5990 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5991 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5992 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5993 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5994 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5995 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5997 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5998 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5999 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6000 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6001 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6002 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6003 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6004 data structure as the only parameter.
6006 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6009 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6010 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6011 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6012 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6015 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6018 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6019 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6020 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6022 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6023 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6024 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6025 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6029 Remove articles when they are read.
6032 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6035 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6037 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6038 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6039 @c from the next group.
6042 @node Article Caching
6043 @section Article Caching
6044 @cindex article caching
6047 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6048 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6049 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6050 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6051 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6053 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6055 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6056 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6057 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6058 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6059 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6060 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6061 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
6062 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6064 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6065 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6066 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6067 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6068 as dormant, and don't worry.
6070 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6072 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6073 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6074 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6075 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6076 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6077 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6078 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6079 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6080 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6081 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6083 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6084 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6085 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6086 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6087 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6088 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6089 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6090 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6091 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6092 not then be downloaded by this command.
6094 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6095 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6096 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6097 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6098 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6099 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6101 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6102 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6103 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6104 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6105 variables, the group is not cached.
6107 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6108 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6109 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6110 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6111 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6112 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
6113 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6114 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6115 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6119 @node Persistent Articles
6120 @section Persistent Articles
6121 @cindex persistent articles
6123 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6124 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6125 useful in my opinion.
6127 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6128 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6129 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6130 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6131 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6132 the expiry going on at the news server.
6134 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6135 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6136 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6142 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6143 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6146 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6148 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6149 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6153 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6155 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6156 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6157 interested in persistent articles:
6160 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6164 @node Article Backlog
6165 @section Article Backlog
6167 @cindex article backlog
6169 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6170 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6171 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
6172 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6173 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6174 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6175 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
6176 increase memory usage some.
6178 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6179 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
6180 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6181 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
6182 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6183 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6184 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6186 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6189 @node Saving Articles
6190 @section Saving Articles
6191 @cindex saving articles
6193 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6194 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6195 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6196 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6197 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6199 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6200 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
6201 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6203 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6204 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6205 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6206 deleted before saving.
6212 @kindex O o (Summary)
6214 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6215 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6216 Save the current article using the default article saver
6217 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6220 @kindex O m (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6222 Save the current article in mail format
6223 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6226 @kindex O r (Summary)
6227 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6228 Save the current article in rmail format
6229 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6232 @kindex O f (Summary)
6233 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6234 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6235 Save the current article in plain file format
6236 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6239 @kindex O F (Summary)
6240 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6241 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6242 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6245 @kindex O b (Summary)
6246 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6247 Save the current article body in plain file format
6248 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6251 @kindex O h (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6253 Save the current article in mh folder format
6254 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6257 @kindex O v (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6259 Save the current article in a VM folder
6260 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6263 @kindex O p (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6265 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6266 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6269 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6270 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6271 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6272 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6273 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6274 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6275 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6276 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6277 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6278 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6279 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6280 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6284 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6285 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6286 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6287 functions below, or you can create your own.
6291 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6292 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6293 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6294 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6295 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6296 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6297 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6299 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6300 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6301 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6302 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6303 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6304 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6306 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6307 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6308 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6309 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6310 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6311 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6312 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6314 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6315 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6316 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6317 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6318 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6320 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6321 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6322 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6323 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6324 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6327 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6328 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6329 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6330 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6331 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6333 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6334 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6335 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6336 reader to use this setting.
6339 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6340 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6341 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6342 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6345 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6346 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6347 available functions that generate names:
6351 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6352 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6353 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6355 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6356 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6357 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6359 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6360 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6361 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6363 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6364 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6365 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6368 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6369 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6370 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6371 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6372 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6376 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6377 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6378 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6379 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6382 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6383 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6384 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6385 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6386 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6387 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6388 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6389 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6390 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6392 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6393 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6394 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6395 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6397 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6398 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6399 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6402 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6403 lots of mail groups called things like
6404 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6405 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6406 following will do just that:
6409 (defun my-save-name (group)
6410 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6411 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6413 (setq gnus-split-methods
6414 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6419 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6420 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6421 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6422 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6423 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6424 all the files in the top level directory
6425 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6426 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6427 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6428 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6430 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6431 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6432 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6433 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6434 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6437 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6441 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6442 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6445 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6446 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6447 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6448 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6451 @node Decoding Articles
6452 @section Decoding Articles
6453 @cindex decoding articles
6455 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6456 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6459 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6460 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6461 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6462 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6463 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6464 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6468 @cindex article series
6469 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6470 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6471 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6472 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6473 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6475 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6476 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6477 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6479 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
6480 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6481 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6483 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6484 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6485 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6488 @node Uuencoded Articles
6489 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6491 @cindex uuencoded articles
6496 @kindex X u (Summary)
6497 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6498 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6499 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6502 @kindex X U (Summary)
6503 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6504 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6505 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6508 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6509 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6510 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6513 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6514 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6515 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6516 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6520 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6521 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6522 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6523 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6524 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6526 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6527 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6528 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6529 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6532 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6533 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6534 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6535 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6536 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6537 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6541 @node Shell Archives
6542 @subsection Shell Archives
6544 @cindex shell archives
6545 @cindex shared articles
6547 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6548 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6549 some commands to deal with these:
6554 @kindex X s (Summary)
6555 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6556 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6559 @kindex X S (Summary)
6560 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6561 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6564 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6565 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6566 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6569 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6570 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6571 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6572 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6576 @node PostScript Files
6577 @subsection PostScript Files
6583 @kindex X p (Summary)
6584 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6585 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6588 @kindex X P (Summary)
6589 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6590 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6591 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6594 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6595 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6596 View the current PostScript series
6597 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6600 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6601 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6602 View and save the current PostScript series
6603 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6608 @subsection Other Files
6612 @kindex X o (Summary)
6613 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6614 Save the current series
6615 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6618 @kindex X b (Summary)
6619 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6620 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6621 doesn't really work yet.
6625 @node Decoding Variables
6626 @subsection Decoding Variables
6628 Adjective, not verb.
6631 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6632 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6633 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6637 @node Rule Variables
6638 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6639 @cindex rule variables
6641 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6642 variables are of the form
6645 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6652 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6653 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6655 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6656 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6659 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6660 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6663 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6664 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6665 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6666 user and default view rules.
6668 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6669 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6670 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6675 @node Other Decode Variables
6676 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6679 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6681 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6682 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6683 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6684 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6685 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6689 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6690 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6693 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6694 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6695 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6698 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6699 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6700 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6701 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6702 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6705 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6706 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6707 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6709 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6710 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6711 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6712 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6713 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6716 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6717 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6718 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6720 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6721 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6722 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6723 looking for files to display.
6725 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6726 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6727 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6730 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6731 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6732 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6735 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6736 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6737 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6740 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6741 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6742 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6745 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6746 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6747 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6748 decoded articles as unread.
6750 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6751 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6752 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6753 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6755 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6756 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6757 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6759 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6760 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6762 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6763 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6764 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6765 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6767 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6768 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6769 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6770 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6771 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6772 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6773 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6774 simply dropped them.
6779 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6780 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6784 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6785 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6786 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6787 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6788 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6789 for you when you post the article.
6791 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6792 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6793 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6794 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6796 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6797 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6798 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6799 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6800 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6801 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6802 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6804 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6805 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6806 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6807 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6808 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6809 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6810 Default is @code{t}.
6816 @subsection Viewing Files
6817 @cindex viewing files
6818 @cindex pseudo-articles
6820 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6821 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6822 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6823 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6824 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6825 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6826 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6828 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6829 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6830 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6831 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6833 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6834 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6835 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6837 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6838 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6839 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6840 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6841 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6843 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6844 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6845 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6846 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6847 a list of parameters to that command.
6849 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6850 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6851 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6853 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6854 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6855 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6858 @node Article Treatment
6859 @section Article Treatment
6861 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6862 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6863 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6864 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6865 these articles easier.
6868 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6869 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6870 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6871 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6872 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6873 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6874 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6875 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6879 @node Article Highlighting
6880 @subsection Article Highlighting
6881 @cindex highlighting
6883 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6884 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6889 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6890 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6891 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6892 Do much highlighting of the current article
6893 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6894 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6897 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6898 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6899 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6900 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6901 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6902 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
6903 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
6904 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6905 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6906 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6907 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6908 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6911 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6912 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6913 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6915 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6918 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6920 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6921 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6922 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6924 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6925 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6926 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6928 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6929 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6930 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6932 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6933 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6934 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6935 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6936 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6937 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6939 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6940 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6941 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6943 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6944 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6945 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6947 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6948 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6949 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6950 that it's a citation.
6952 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6953 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6954 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6956 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6957 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6958 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6960 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6961 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6962 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6963 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6969 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6970 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6971 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6972 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6973 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6974 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6975 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6976 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6981 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
6984 @node Article Fontisizing
6985 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6987 @cindex article emphasis
6989 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6990 @kindex W e (Summary)
6991 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6992 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
6993 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6994 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6996 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6997 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6998 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6999 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7000 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7001 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7002 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7003 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7007 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7008 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7009 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7018 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7019 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7020 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7021 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7022 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7023 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7024 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7025 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7026 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7027 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7028 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7029 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7030 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7032 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7033 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7034 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7038 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7041 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7043 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7044 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7045 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7046 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7048 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7051 @node Article Hiding
7052 @subsection Article Hiding
7053 @cindex article hiding
7055 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7056 too much cruft in most articles.
7061 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7062 @findex gnus-article-hide
7063 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7064 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7065 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7068 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7069 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7070 Toggle hiding of headers (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7074 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7075 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7076 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7077 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7080 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7081 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7082 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7086 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7087 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7088 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7089 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}.
7090 These are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of
7091 all @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any
7092 leading @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping.
7096 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7097 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7098 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7099 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7104 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7105 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7106 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7107 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7108 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7109 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7110 articles that have signatures in them do:
7112 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7114 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7116 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7117 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7119 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7122 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7127 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7128 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7129 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7130 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7133 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7134 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7137 @cindex stripping advertisments
7138 @cindex advertisments
7139 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7140 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7141 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7142 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7143 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7144 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7145 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7146 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7147 signature should be removed.
7150 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7151 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7152 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7153 customizing the hiding:
7157 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7158 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7159 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7160 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7161 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7162 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7163 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7168 Starting point of the hidden text.
7170 Ending point of the hidden text.
7172 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7174 Number of lines of hidden text.
7177 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7178 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7179 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7180 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7181 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7186 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7187 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7189 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7190 following two variables:
7193 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7194 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7195 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7196 50), hide the cited text.
7198 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7199 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7200 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7205 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7206 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7207 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7208 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7209 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7210 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7214 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7215 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7216 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7218 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7219 citation customization.
7221 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7225 @node Article Washing
7226 @subsection Article Washing
7228 @cindex article washing
7230 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7231 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7233 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7234 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7240 @kindex W l (Summary)
7241 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7242 Remove page breaks from the current article
7243 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7247 @kindex W r (Summary)
7248 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7249 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7250 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7251 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7252 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7253 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7255 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7256 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7257 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7258 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7261 @kindex W t (Summary)
7262 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7263 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7264 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7267 @kindex W v (Summary)
7268 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7269 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7270 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7273 @kindex W m (Summary)
7274 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
7275 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
7276 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
7279 @kindex W o (Summary)
7280 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7281 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7284 @kindex W d (Summary)
7285 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7286 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7288 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
7290 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7291 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7292 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7293 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7297 @kindex W w (Summary)
7298 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7299 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7301 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7305 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7306 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7307 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7310 @kindex W C (Summary)
7311 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7312 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7313 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7316 @kindex W c (Summary)
7317 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7318 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7319 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7320 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7321 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7324 @kindex W f (Summary)
7326 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7327 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7328 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7329 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7335 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7336 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7337 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7338 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7339 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7340 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7341 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7342 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
7343 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
7344 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7345 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7346 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7347 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
7348 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7352 @kindex W b (Summary)
7353 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7354 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7355 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7358 @kindex W B (Summary)
7359 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7360 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7361 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7364 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7365 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7366 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7367 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7370 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7371 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7372 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7373 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7376 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7377 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7378 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7379 lines with a single empty line.
7380 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7383 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7384 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7385 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7386 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7389 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7390 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7391 Do all the three commands above
7392 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7395 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7396 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7397 Remove all blank lines
7398 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7401 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7402 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7403 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7404 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7407 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7408 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7409 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7410 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7414 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7417 @node Article Buttons
7418 @subsection Article Buttons
7421 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7422 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7423 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7424 button on these references.
7426 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7427 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7428 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7433 @item gnus-button-alist
7434 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7435 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7438 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7444 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7445 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7446 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7449 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7450 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7451 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7454 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7455 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7456 avoid false matches.
7459 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7462 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7463 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7467 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7470 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7473 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7474 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7475 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7476 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7477 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7480 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7483 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7485 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7486 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7487 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7488 default values of the variables above.
7490 @item gnus-article-button-face
7491 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7492 Face used on buttons.
7494 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7495 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7496 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7500 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7504 @subsection Article Date
7506 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7507 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7508 when the article was sent.
7513 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7514 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7515 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7516 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7519 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7520 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7522 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7523 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7526 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7527 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7528 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7531 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7532 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7533 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7534 @findex format-time-string
7535 Display the date using a user-defined format
7536 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7537 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7538 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7539 for a list of possible format specs.
7542 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7543 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7544 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7545 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7546 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7547 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7550 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7553 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7554 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7557 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7558 into wonderful absurdities.
7560 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7563 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7566 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7567 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7571 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7572 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7573 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7574 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7575 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7576 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7577 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7581 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7582 preferred format automatically.
7585 @node Article Signature
7586 @subsection Article Signature
7588 @cindex article signature
7590 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7591 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7592 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7593 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7594 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7595 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7596 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7597 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7598 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7601 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7602 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7603 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7604 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7605 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7606 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7607 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7608 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7611 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7614 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7615 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7616 signature when displaying articles.
7620 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7623 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7626 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7627 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7629 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7630 in question is not a signature.
7633 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7634 listed above. Here's an example:
7637 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7638 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7641 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7642 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7643 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7644 signature after all.
7647 @node Article Miscellania
7648 @subsection Article Miscellania
7652 @kindex A t (Summary)
7653 @findex gnus-article-babel
7654 Translate the article from one language to another
7655 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7661 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7662 @cindex MIME decoding
7664 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7665 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7671 @kindex K v (Summary)
7672 View the @sc{mime} part.
7675 @kindex K o (Summary)
7676 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7679 @kindex K c (Summary)
7680 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7683 @kindex K e (Summary)
7684 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7687 @kindex K i (Summary)
7688 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7691 @kindex K | (Summary)
7692 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7695 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7700 @kindex K b (Summary)
7701 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in from of them. This is
7702 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7706 @kindex K m (Summary)
7707 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7708 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7709 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7710 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7711 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7714 @kindex X m (Summary)
7715 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7716 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7717 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7718 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7721 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7722 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7723 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7724 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7727 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7728 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7729 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7732 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7733 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7734 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7736 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7737 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7738 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7739 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7740 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7741 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7744 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7745 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7746 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7753 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7754 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7755 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7756 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7759 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7762 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7766 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7767 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7768 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7769 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7770 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7772 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7773 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7774 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7775 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7776 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7777 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7778 save all jpegs into some directory).
7780 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7783 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7784 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7786 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7787 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7788 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7789 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7790 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7793 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7794 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7795 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7804 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7805 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7806 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7807 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7808 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7809 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7810 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7812 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7813 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7814 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7815 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7817 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7818 aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7819 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7820 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7821 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7822 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7823 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7824 something some agents insist on having in there.
7826 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
7827 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
7828 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
7829 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
7830 quoted-printable header encoding.
7832 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
7833 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
7834 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
7838 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
7841 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
7842 means encode all charsets),
7844 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
7845 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
7846 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
7853 @cindex coding system aliases
7854 @cindex preferred charset
7856 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
7858 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
7859 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
7862 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
7863 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
7866 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
7867 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
7869 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
7872 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
7875 This will almost do the right thing.
7877 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
7881 (codepage-setup 1251)
7882 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
7886 @node Article Commands
7887 @section Article Commands
7894 @kindex A P (Summary)
7895 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
7896 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
7897 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
7898 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
7899 run just before printing the buffer.
7904 @node Summary Sorting
7905 @section Summary Sorting
7906 @cindex summary sorting
7908 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
7909 can't really see why you'd want that.
7914 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
7915 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
7916 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
7919 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
7920 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
7921 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
7924 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
7925 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
7926 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
7929 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
7930 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
7931 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
7934 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
7935 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
7936 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
7939 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
7940 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
7941 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
7944 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
7945 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
7946 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
7949 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
7950 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
7951 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
7952 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
7953 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
7957 @node Finding the Parent
7958 @section Finding the Parent
7959 @cindex parent articles
7960 @cindex referring articles
7965 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
7966 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
7967 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
7968 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
7969 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
7970 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
7971 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
7972 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
7973 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
7975 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
7976 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
7977 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
7978 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
7979 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
7983 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
7984 @kindex A R (Summary)
7985 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
7986 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
7989 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
7990 @kindex A T (Summary)
7991 Display the full thread where the current article appears
7992 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
7993 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
7994 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
7995 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
7996 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
7997 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
7999 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8000 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8001 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8002 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8003 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8004 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8007 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8008 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8010 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8011 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8012 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8013 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8014 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8015 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8016 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8019 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8020 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8021 by giving this command a prefix.
8023 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8024 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8025 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8026 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8027 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8028 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8031 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8032 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8033 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8036 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8037 then ask Deja if that fails:
8040 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8042 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8045 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8046 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8047 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8048 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8049 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8050 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8053 @node Alternative Approaches
8054 @section Alternative Approaches
8056 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8057 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8060 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8061 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8066 @subsection Pick and Read
8067 @cindex pick and read
8069 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8070 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8071 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8072 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8074 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8075 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8076 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8077 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8078 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8079 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8081 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8086 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8087 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8088 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8089 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8090 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8091 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8092 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8093 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8096 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8097 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8098 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8099 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8103 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8104 Unpick the thread or article
8105 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8106 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8107 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8108 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8109 the thread or article at that line.
8113 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8114 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8115 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8116 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8117 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8118 will still be visible when you are reading.
8122 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8123 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8124 which is mapped to the same function
8125 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8127 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8130 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8133 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8134 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8136 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8137 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8138 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8140 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8141 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8142 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8143 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8144 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8145 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8146 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8150 @subsection Binary Groups
8151 @cindex binary groups
8153 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8154 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8155 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8156 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8157 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8158 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8159 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8162 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8163 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8164 command, when you have turned on this mode
8165 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8167 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8168 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8172 @section Tree Display
8175 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8176 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
8177 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8178 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8181 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8184 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8185 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8186 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8188 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8189 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8190 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8191 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8192 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8194 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8195 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8196 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8197 default is @code{modeline}.
8199 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8200 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8201 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8202 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8203 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8204 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8205 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8211 The name of the poster.
8213 The @code{From} header.
8215 The number of the article.
8217 The opening bracket.
8219 The closing bracket.
8224 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8226 Variables related to the display are:
8229 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8230 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8231 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8232 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8233 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8234 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8236 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8237 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8238 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8239 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8243 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8244 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8245 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
8246 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
8247 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8248 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8249 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8250 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8251 other windows displayed next to it.
8253 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8254 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8255 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8256 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8257 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8258 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8259 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8263 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8266 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8276 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8280 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8281 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8283 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8285 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8290 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8291 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8292 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8295 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8296 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8297 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8298 (gnus-add-configuration
8302 (summary 0.75 point)
8307 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8310 @node Mail Group Commands
8311 @section Mail Group Commands
8312 @cindex mail group commands
8314 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8315 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8317 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8318 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8323 @kindex B e (Summary)
8324 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8325 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8326 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8329 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8330 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8331 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8332 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8333 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8334 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8337 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8338 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8339 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8340 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8341 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8342 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8345 @kindex B m (Summary)
8347 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8348 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8349 Move the article from one mail group to another
8350 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8351 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8354 @kindex B c (Summary)
8356 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8357 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8358 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8359 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8360 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8363 @kindex B B (Summary)
8364 @cindex crosspost mail
8365 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8366 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8367 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8368 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8369 be properly updated.
8372 @kindex B i (Summary)
8373 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8374 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8375 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8376 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8379 @kindex B r (Summary)
8380 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8381 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8382 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8383 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8384 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8385 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8386 (which is the default).
8390 @kindex B w (Summary)
8392 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8393 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8394 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8395 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8396 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8397 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8400 @kindex B q (Summary)
8401 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8402 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8403 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8404 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8407 @kindex B t (Summary)
8408 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8409 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8410 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8413 @kindex B p (Summary)
8414 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8415 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8416 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8417 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8418 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8419 article from your news server (or rather, from
8420 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8421 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8422 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8423 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8424 just not have arrived yet.
8428 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8429 @cindex moving articles
8430 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
8431 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8432 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8433 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8434 suggestions you find reasonable.
8437 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8438 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8439 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8440 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8444 @node Various Summary Stuff
8445 @section Various Summary Stuff
8448 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8449 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8450 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8451 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8455 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8456 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8457 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8459 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8460 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8461 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8462 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8463 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8464 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8467 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8468 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8469 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8470 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8471 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8473 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8474 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8475 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8478 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8479 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8480 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8481 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8482 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8483 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8484 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
8485 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8486 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8487 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8489 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8490 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8491 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8492 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8493 list of articles to be selected.
8495 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8496 the list in one particular group:
8499 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8500 (if (string= group "some.group")
8501 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8508 @node Summary Group Information
8509 @subsection Summary Group Information
8514 @kindex H f (Summary)
8515 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8516 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8517 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8518 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8519 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8520 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8521 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8522 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8523 be used for fetching the file.
8526 @kindex H d (Summary)
8527 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8528 Give a brief description of the current group
8529 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8530 rereading the description from the server.
8533 @kindex H h (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8535 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8536 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8539 @kindex H i (Summary)
8540 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8541 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8545 @node Searching for Articles
8546 @subsection Searching for Articles
8551 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8552 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8553 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8554 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8557 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8558 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8559 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8560 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8564 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8565 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
8566 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8567 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
8571 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8573 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8574 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8577 @node Summary Generation Commands
8578 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8583 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8584 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8585 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8588 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8589 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8590 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8591 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8596 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8597 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8603 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8604 @kindex A D (Summary)
8605 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8606 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8607 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8608 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8609 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8610 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8611 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8612 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8616 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8617 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8618 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8619 several documents into one biiig group
8620 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8621 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8622 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8623 command understands the process/prefix convention
8624 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8627 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8628 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8629 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8630 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8631 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8632 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8636 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8637 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8638 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8641 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8642 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8643 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8644 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8647 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8648 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8649 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8650 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8655 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8656 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8657 @cindex summary exit
8658 @cindex exiting groups
8660 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8661 group and return you to the group buffer.
8667 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8669 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8670 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8671 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8672 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8673 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8674 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8675 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8676 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8677 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8678 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8679 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8683 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8685 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8686 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8687 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8691 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8693 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8694 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8695 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8696 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8699 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8700 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8701 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8702 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8705 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8706 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8707 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8708 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8711 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8712 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8713 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8714 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8715 all articles, both read and unread.
8719 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8720 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8721 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8722 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8723 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8724 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8725 articles, both read and unread.
8728 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8729 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8730 Exit the group and go to the next group
8731 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8734 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8735 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8736 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8737 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8740 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8741 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8742 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8743 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8744 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8745 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8748 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8749 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8750 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8751 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8753 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8754 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8755 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8756 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8757 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8758 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8759 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8760 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8761 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8762 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8763 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8764 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8766 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8768 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8769 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8770 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8771 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8772 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8773 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8774 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8775 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8776 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8779 @node Crosspost Handling
8780 @section Crosspost Handling
8784 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8785 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8786 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8787 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8788 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8789 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8792 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8793 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8794 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8795 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8796 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8798 @cindex cross-posting
8801 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8802 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8803 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8804 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8805 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8806 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8807 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8808 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8809 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8810 the cross reference mechanism.
8812 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8813 @cindex overview.fmt
8814 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8815 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8816 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8817 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8818 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8819 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8822 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8823 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
8824 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
8829 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
8832 @node Duplicate Suppression
8833 @section Duplicate Suppression
8835 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
8836 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
8837 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
8838 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
8843 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
8844 is evil and not very common.
8847 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
8848 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
8851 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
8852 different @sc{nntp} servers.
8855 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
8858 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
8859 well, but these four are the most common situations.
8861 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
8862 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
8863 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
8864 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
8865 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
8866 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
8867 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
8870 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
8871 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
8872 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
8873 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
8874 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
8878 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
8879 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
8880 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
8882 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
8883 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
8884 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
8885 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
8886 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
8887 session are suppressed.
8889 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
8890 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
8891 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
8892 suppression list. The default is 10000.
8894 @item gnus-duplicate-file
8895 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
8896 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
8897 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
8900 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
8901 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
8902 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
8903 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
8904 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
8905 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
8906 to you to figure out, I think.
8909 @node The Article Buffer
8910 @chapter The Article Buffer
8911 @cindex article buffer
8913 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
8914 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
8915 tell gnus otherwise.
8918 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
8919 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
8920 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
8921 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
8922 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
8926 @node Hiding Headers
8927 @section Hiding Headers
8928 @cindex hiding headers
8929 @cindex deleting headers
8931 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
8932 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
8934 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
8935 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
8936 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
8937 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
8938 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
8939 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
8940 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
8941 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
8942 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
8944 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
8948 @item gnus-visible-headers
8949 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
8950 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
8951 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
8952 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
8954 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
8955 the article and the subject, you'd say:
8958 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
8961 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
8964 @item gnus-ignored-headers
8965 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
8966 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
8967 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
8968 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
8969 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
8971 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
8972 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
8975 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
8978 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
8981 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
8982 variable will have no effect.
8986 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
8987 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
8988 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
8989 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
8990 the headers are to be displayed.
8992 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
8993 and then the subject, you might say something like:
8996 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
8999 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9000 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9002 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9003 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9004 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9005 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9006 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9007 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9008 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9011 These conditions are:
9014 Remove all empty headers.
9016 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9017 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9019 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9022 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9025 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9028 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9030 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9033 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9036 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9037 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9040 This is also the default value for this variable.
9044 @section Using @sc{mime}
9047 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9048 while people stand around yawning.
9050 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9051 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9053 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9054 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9055 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9057 @vindex gnus-show-mime
9058 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
9059 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
9060 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
9061 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
9062 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
9063 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
9064 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
9065 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
9066 existed yet, sorry).
9068 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
9069 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
9070 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
9071 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
9072 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
9073 buffer. These can't be avoided.
9075 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
9076 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
9077 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
9078 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
9079 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
9080 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
9081 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
9082 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
9083 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
9086 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9088 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
9089 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
9090 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
9091 buffer when there are nobody else.
9093 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9096 @node Customizing Articles
9097 @section Customizing Articles
9098 @cindex article customization
9100 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9101 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9102 called automatically when you select the articles.
9104 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9105 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9106 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9107 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9109 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9110 for sensible values.
9114 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9117 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9120 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9123 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9126 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9130 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9131 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9132 regexps in the list.
9135 A list where the first element is not a string:
9137 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9138 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9139 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9143 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9147 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
9152 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9153 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9154 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9155 considered to contain just a single part.
9157 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9158 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9159 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9160 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9161 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9162 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9163 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9165 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9166 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9167 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9168 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9171 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9172 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9173 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9174 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9175 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9176 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9177 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9178 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9179 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9180 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9181 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9182 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9183 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9184 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9185 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9186 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9187 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9188 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9189 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9190 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9191 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9192 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9193 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9194 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9195 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9196 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9197 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9198 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9199 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9200 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9201 @item gnus-treat-translate
9202 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset
9205 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9206 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9207 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9208 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9209 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9213 @node Article Keymap
9214 @section Article Keymap
9216 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9217 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9218 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9219 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9222 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9227 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9228 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9229 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9232 @kindex DEL (Article)
9233 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9234 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9237 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9238 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9239 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9240 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9241 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9244 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9245 @findex gnus-article-mail
9246 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9247 given a prefix, include the mail.
9251 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9252 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9253 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9257 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9258 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9259 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9262 @kindex TAB (Article)
9263 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9264 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9265 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9268 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9269 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9270 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9276 @section Misc Article
9280 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9281 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9282 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9283 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9286 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9287 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9289 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9290 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9292 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9293 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9294 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9295 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9296 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9297 the contents of the article buffer.
9299 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9300 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9301 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9303 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9304 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9305 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9306 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9308 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9309 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9310 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9311 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9312 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9317 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9318 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9321 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9324 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9326 @item gnus-break-pages
9327 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9328 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9329 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9330 paging will not be done.
9332 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9333 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9334 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9339 @node Composing Messages
9340 @chapter Composing Messages
9341 @cindex composing messages
9344 @cindex sending mail
9349 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9350 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9351 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9352 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9353 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9354 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9357 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9358 * Post:: Posting and following up.
9359 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9360 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9361 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9362 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9363 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9364 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9367 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9368 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9374 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9377 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9378 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9379 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9380 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9382 @item gnus-add-to-list
9383 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9384 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9385 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9393 Variables for composing news articles:
9396 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9397 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9398 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
9399 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
9400 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
9401 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
9402 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
9403 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
9404 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want gnus to keep a history
9407 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9408 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9409 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
9410 file. It is 1000 by default.
9415 @node Posting Server
9416 @section Posting Server
9418 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9419 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9421 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9423 @vindex gnus-post-method
9425 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
9426 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9427 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9428 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9429 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9432 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9435 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9436 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9437 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9438 the ``current'' server for posting.
9440 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9441 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9443 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9444 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9447 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9448 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9449 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9454 @section Mail and Post
9456 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9460 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9461 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9462 @cindex mailing lists
9464 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9465 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9466 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9467 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9468 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9469 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9470 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9471 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9472 still a pain, though.
9476 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9477 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9478 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9481 @findex ispell-message
9483 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9486 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9487 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9490 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9493 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9494 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9496 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9499 Modify to suit your needs.
9502 @node Archived Messages
9503 @section Archived Messages
9504 @cindex archived messages
9505 @cindex sent messages
9507 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9508 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9509 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9510 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9513 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9514 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
9515 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9519 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9520 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9521 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9522 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9525 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9526 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
9527 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9528 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9531 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9532 '(nnfolder "archive"
9533 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9534 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9535 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9538 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9540 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9541 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9542 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9544 This variable can be used to do the following:
9548 Messages will be saved in that group.
9549 @item a list of strings
9550 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9551 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9552 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9554 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9559 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9561 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9564 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9566 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9569 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9571 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9572 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9573 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9574 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9579 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9580 '((if (message-news-p)
9585 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9586 messages in one file per month:
9589 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9590 '((if (message-news-p)
9592 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9595 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9596 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9598 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9599 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9600 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9601 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9602 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9603 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9604 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9605 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9606 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9607 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9609 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9610 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9611 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9612 this will disable archiving.
9615 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9616 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9617 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9618 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9619 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9622 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9623 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9624 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9627 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9628 but the latter is the preferred method.
9632 @node Posting Styles
9633 @section Posting Styles
9634 @cindex posting styles
9637 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9639 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9640 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9641 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9644 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9645 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9646 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9647 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9648 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9653 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9654 (organization "What me?"))
9656 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9657 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9658 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9661 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9662 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9663 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9664 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9665 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9666 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9667 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9668 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9670 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9671 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9672 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9673 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9674 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9675 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9676 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9677 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9680 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9681 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9682 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9683 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9684 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9685 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9686 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9687 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9688 result is thrown away.
9690 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9691 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9692 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9693 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9694 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9695 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9697 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9698 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9699 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9701 @findex message-mail-p
9702 @findex message-news-p
9704 So here's a new example:
9707 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9709 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9711 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9712 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9714 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9715 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9716 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9718 (signature my-news-signature))
9719 (header "From.*To" "larsi.*org"
9720 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9721 ((posting-from-work-p)
9722 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9723 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9724 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9725 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9727 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9735 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9736 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9737 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9738 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9739 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9741 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9742 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9743 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9744 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9745 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9749 @vindex nndraft-directory
9750 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9751 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9752 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9753 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9754 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9755 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9757 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9758 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9761 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9762 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9763 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9764 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9765 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9766 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9767 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9768 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9769 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9770 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9771 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9772 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9773 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9774 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9776 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9777 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9778 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9780 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9782 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9783 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9784 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9786 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9789 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9790 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
9791 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
9792 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
9793 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
9794 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
9795 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
9798 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
9799 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
9800 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
9803 @node Rejected Articles
9804 @section Rejected Articles
9805 @cindex rejected articles
9807 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
9808 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
9809 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
9810 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
9812 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
9813 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
9814 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
9815 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
9816 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
9818 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
9819 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
9820 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
9823 @node Select Methods
9824 @chapter Select Methods
9825 @cindex foreign groups
9826 @cindex select methods
9828 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
9829 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
9830 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
9831 personal mail group.
9833 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
9834 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
9835 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
9836 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
9837 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
9838 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
9840 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
9841 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
9843 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
9846 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
9847 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
9848 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
9849 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
9850 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
9852 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
9855 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
9856 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
9857 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
9858 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
9859 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
9860 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
9861 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
9865 @node The Server Buffer
9866 @section The Server Buffer
9868 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
9869 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
9870 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
9871 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
9872 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
9873 backend represents a virtual server.
9875 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
9876 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
9877 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
9878 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
9880 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
9881 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
9882 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
9883 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
9884 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
9885 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
9886 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
9888 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
9889 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
9892 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
9893 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
9894 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
9895 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
9896 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
9897 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
9898 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
9901 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
9902 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
9905 @node Server Buffer Format
9906 @subsection Server Buffer Format
9907 @cindex server buffer format
9909 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
9910 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
9911 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
9912 variable, with some simple extensions:
9917 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
9920 The name of this server.
9923 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
9926 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
9929 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
9930 The mode line can also be customized by using the
9931 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
9932 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
9942 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
9945 @node Server Commands
9946 @subsection Server Commands
9947 @cindex server commands
9953 @findex gnus-server-add-server
9954 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
9958 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
9959 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
9962 @kindex SPACE (Server)
9963 @findex gnus-server-read-server
9964 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
9968 @findex gnus-server-exit
9969 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
9973 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
9974 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
9978 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
9979 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
9983 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
9984 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
9988 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
9989 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
9993 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
9994 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
9995 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10000 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10001 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10002 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10003 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
10008 @node Example Methods
10009 @subsection Example Methods
10011 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10014 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10017 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10023 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10024 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10027 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10028 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10030 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10031 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10035 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10038 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10039 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10041 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10042 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10043 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10047 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10050 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10053 Here's the method for a public spool:
10057 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10058 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10061 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10062 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10063 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10064 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10065 should probably look something like this:
10069 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10070 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10071 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10072 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10073 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10076 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10077 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10078 server that would look something like this:
10082 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10083 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10084 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10085 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10086 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10087 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10090 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10091 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10092 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10093 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10096 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10097 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10099 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10100 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10102 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10103 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10104 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10106 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10108 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10109 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10110 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10111 will contain the following:
10121 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10122 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10123 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10126 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10127 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10128 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10131 @node Server Variables
10132 @subsection Server Variables
10134 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10135 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10136 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10137 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10138 won't change the "derived" variables.
10140 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10141 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10142 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10143 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10144 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10145 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10146 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10147 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10148 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10152 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10153 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10154 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10158 @node Servers and Methods
10159 @subsection Servers and Methods
10161 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10162 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10163 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10164 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10168 @node Unavailable Servers
10169 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10171 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10172 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10173 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10174 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10175 actually the case or not.
10177 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10178 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10179 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10180 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10181 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10182 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10183 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10184 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10186 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10187 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10189 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10190 with the following commands:
10196 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10197 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10198 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10202 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10203 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10204 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10208 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10209 Mark the current server as unreachable
10210 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10213 @kindex M-o (Server)
10214 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10215 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10216 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10219 @kindex M-c (Server)
10220 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10221 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10222 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10226 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10227 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10228 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10234 @section Getting News
10235 @cindex reading news
10236 @cindex news backends
10238 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10239 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10240 or it can read from a local spool.
10243 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10244 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10249 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10252 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10253 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10254 server as the, uhm, address.
10256 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10257 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10258 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10259 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10261 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10262 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10263 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10265 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10270 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10271 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10272 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10274 @cindex authentification
10275 @cindex nntp authentification
10276 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10277 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10278 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10279 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10280 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10281 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10282 present in this hook.
10284 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10285 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10286 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10287 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10288 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10289 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10290 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10291 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10292 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10293 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10294 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10295 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10299 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10302 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
10303 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10304 @samp{default}, @samp{port} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a
10305 valid @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is almost the only way the
10306 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
10311 Here's an example file:
10314 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10315 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10318 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10319 have to be first, for instance.
10321 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10322 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10323 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10324 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10325 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10326 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10327 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10329 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10330 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10336 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10337 previously mentioned.
10339 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10341 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10342 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10343 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10344 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10345 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10348 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10349 '(("innd" (ding))))
10352 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10354 The default value is
10357 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10358 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10361 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10362 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10364 @item nntp-maximum-request
10365 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10366 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10367 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10368 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10369 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10370 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10371 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10373 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10374 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10375 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10376 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10377 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10378 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10379 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10380 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10381 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10382 no timeouts are done.
10384 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10385 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10386 @c @cindex PPP connections
10387 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10388 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10389 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10390 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10391 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10392 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10393 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10394 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10395 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10396 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10398 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10399 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10400 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10401 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10402 @c described above.
10404 @item nntp-server-hook
10405 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10406 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10409 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10410 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10411 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10412 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10413 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10414 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10415 functions are supplied:
10418 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10419 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10422 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10423 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10424 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10427 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10431 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10432 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10433 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10434 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10436 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10437 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10438 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10440 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10441 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10442 User name on the remote system.
10446 @item nntp-open-telnet
10447 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10448 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10450 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10453 @item nntp-telnet-command
10454 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10455 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10457 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10458 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10459 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10461 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10462 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10463 User name for log in on the remote system.
10465 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10466 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10467 Password to use when logging in.
10469 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10470 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10471 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10474 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10475 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10476 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10477 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10479 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10480 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10481 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10482 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10483 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10487 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10488 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10489 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10490 you must have SSLay installed
10491 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10492 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
10493 define a server as follows:
10496 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10498 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10500 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10501 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10502 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10503 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10508 @item nntp-end-of-line
10509 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10510 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10511 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10512 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10514 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10515 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10516 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10520 @vindex nntp-address
10521 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10523 @item nntp-port-number
10524 @vindex nntp-port-number
10525 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10528 @item nntp-buggy-select
10529 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10530 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10532 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10533 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10534 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10535 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10538 @item nntp-xover-commands
10539 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10542 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10543 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10547 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10548 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10549 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10550 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10551 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10552 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10553 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10554 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10555 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10556 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10557 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10559 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10560 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10561 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10563 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10564 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10565 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10566 server closes connection.
10568 @item nntp-record-commands
10569 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10570 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10571 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10572 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10573 that doesn't seem to work.
10579 @subsection News Spool
10583 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10584 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10585 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10588 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10589 anything else) as the address.
10591 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10592 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10593 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10594 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10598 @item nnspool-inews-program
10599 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10600 Program used to post an article.
10602 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10603 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10604 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10606 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10607 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10608 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10609 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10611 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10612 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10613 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10614 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10616 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10617 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10618 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10620 @item nnspool-active-file
10621 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10622 The path to the active file.
10624 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10625 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10626 The path to the group descriptions file.
10628 @item nnspool-history-file
10629 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10630 The path to the news history file.
10632 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10633 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10634 The path to the active date file.
10636 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10637 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10638 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10641 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10642 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10644 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10645 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10646 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10652 @section Getting Mail
10653 @cindex reading mail
10656 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10660 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10661 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10662 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10663 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10664 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10665 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10666 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10667 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10668 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10669 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10670 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10671 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10672 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10676 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10677 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10679 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10680 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10681 of a culture shock.
10683 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10684 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10686 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10687 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10688 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10689 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10691 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10693 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10694 deleted? How awful!
10696 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10697 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10698 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10699 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10702 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10703 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10704 they want to treat a message.
10706 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
10707 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
10708 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
10709 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
10710 archived somewhere else.
10712 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
10713 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
10714 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
10715 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
10716 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
10718 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
10719 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
10720 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
10722 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
10723 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
10726 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
10727 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
10728 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
10729 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
10730 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
10732 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
10733 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
10734 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
10735 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
10736 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
10737 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
10741 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
10742 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
10744 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
10745 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
10746 and things will happen automatically.
10748 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
10749 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
10752 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
10753 '((nnml "private")))
10756 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
10757 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
10758 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
10759 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
10760 like any other group.
10762 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
10765 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10766 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10767 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10771 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
10772 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
10773 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
10776 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
10777 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
10778 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
10781 @node Splitting Mail
10782 @subsection Splitting Mail
10783 @cindex splitting mail
10784 @cindex mail splitting
10786 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
10787 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
10788 to be split into groups.
10791 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10792 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10793 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10794 ("mail.other" "")))
10797 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
10798 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
10799 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
10800 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
10801 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
10802 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
10803 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
10806 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
10809 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
10810 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
10811 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
10812 mail belongs in that group.
10814 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
10815 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
10816 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
10817 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
10818 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
10819 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
10821 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
10822 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
10823 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
10824 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
10825 thinks should carry this mail message.
10827 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
10828 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
10829 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
10830 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
10832 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
10833 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
10834 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
10835 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
10836 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
10838 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
10841 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
10842 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
10843 links. If that's the case for you, set
10844 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
10845 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
10847 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
10848 @kindex nnmail-split-history
10849 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
10850 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
10852 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
10853 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
10854 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
10855 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
10856 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
10857 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
10858 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
10859 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
10860 month's rent money.
10864 @subsection Mail Sources
10866 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
10867 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
10871 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
10872 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
10873 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
10877 @node Mail Source Specifiers
10878 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
10880 @cindex mail server
10883 @cindex mail source
10885 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
10886 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
10891 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
10894 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
10895 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
10896 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
10899 The following mail source types are available:
10903 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
10909 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
10910 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
10913 An example file mail source:
10916 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
10919 Or using the default path:
10925 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
10926 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not you ange-ftp
10927 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
10930 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
10934 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
10937 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
10941 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
10944 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
10946 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
10949 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
10953 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
10954 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
10960 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
10964 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
10968 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
10969 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
10970 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
10971 predicate are considered.
10975 Script run before/after fetching mail.
10979 An example directory mail source:
10982 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
10987 Get mail from a POP server.
10993 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
10994 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
10997 The port number of the POP server. The default is @samp{pop3}.
11000 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11004 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11008 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11009 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11012 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11015 The valid format specifier characters are:
11019 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11020 included in this string.
11023 The name of the server.
11026 The port number of the server.
11029 The user name to use.
11032 The password to use.
11035 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11036 corresponding keywords.
11039 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11040 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11043 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11044 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11047 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11048 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11051 @item :authentication
11052 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11053 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11058 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11059 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11061 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11062 default user name, and default fetcher:
11068 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11071 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11072 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11075 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11078 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11082 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11083 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11084 contains exactly one mail.
11090 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11091 @samp{~/Maildir/new}.
11093 If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11094 them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11095 @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11098 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11099 from locking problems).
11103 Two example maildir mail sources:
11106 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/cur")
11110 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/new")
11114 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11115 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11116 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11117 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11123 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11124 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11127 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11128 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11131 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11135 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11139 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11140 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11141 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11143 @item :authenticator
11144 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11145 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11146 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11150 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11151 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11154 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11155 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11156 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11157 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11158 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11159 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11162 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{Deleted}
11163 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{Seen} which
11164 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11165 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11168 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11169 after finishing the fetch.
11173 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11176 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11180 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11181 mail.yahoo.com, www.netaddress.com and www.my-deja.com.
11183 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on w3 (url) package, whose version of "WWW
11184 4.0pre.46 1999/10/01" or previous ones may not work.
11186 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11192 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11193 alternatives are @code{yahoo}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11196 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11200 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11204 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11205 folder after finishing the fetch.
11209 An example webmail source:
11212 (webmail :subtype 'yahoo :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11217 @item Common Keywords
11218 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11224 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11225 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11229 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11234 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11235 useful when you use local mail and news.
11240 @node Mail Source Customization
11241 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11243 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11244 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11248 @item mail-source-crash-box
11249 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11250 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11251 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11253 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11254 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11255 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11257 @item mail-source-directory
11258 @vindex mail-source-directory
11259 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11260 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11261 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11264 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11265 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11266 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11271 @node Fetching Mail
11272 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11274 @vindex mail-sources
11275 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11276 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11277 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11278 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11280 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11281 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11284 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11285 mail server, you'd say something like:
11290 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11291 :password "secret")))
11294 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11298 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11299 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11302 :password "secret")))
11306 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11307 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11308 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11309 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11310 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11311 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11315 @node Mail Backend Variables
11316 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11318 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11322 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11323 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11324 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11325 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11327 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11328 @item nnmail-split-hook
11329 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11330 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11331 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11332 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11333 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11334 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11335 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11336 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11337 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11340 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11341 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11342 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11343 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11344 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11345 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11346 starting to handle the new mail) and
11347 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11348 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11349 default file modes the new mail files get:
11352 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11353 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11355 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11356 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11359 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11360 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11361 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11362 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11363 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11364 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11365 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11367 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11368 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11369 @findex delete-file
11370 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11372 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11373 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11374 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11375 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11376 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11381 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11382 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11383 @cindex mail splitting
11384 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11386 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11387 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11388 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11389 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11390 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11391 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11393 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11396 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11397 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11398 ;; from real errors.
11399 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11401 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11402 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11403 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11404 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11405 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11406 ;; Other mailing lists...
11407 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11408 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11409 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11410 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11411 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11412 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11413 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11414 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11416 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11417 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11421 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11422 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11423 the five possible split syntaxes:
11428 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11429 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11433 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11434 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11435 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11436 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11437 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11438 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11439 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11440 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11443 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11444 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11445 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11446 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11449 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11450 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11453 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11454 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11457 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11458 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11459 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11460 function should return a @var{split}.
11463 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11464 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11465 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11469 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11473 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11474 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11475 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11476 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11477 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11479 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11480 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11481 are expanded as specified by the variable
11482 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11483 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11486 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11487 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11488 when all this splitting is performed.
11490 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11491 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11492 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11495 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11498 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11499 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11501 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11502 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11503 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11504 groupings 1 through 9.
11507 @node Group Mail Splitting
11508 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11509 @cindex mail splitting
11510 @cindex group mail splitting
11512 @findex gnus-group-split
11513 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11514 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11515 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11516 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11517 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11518 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11519 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11520 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11522 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11523 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11524 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11525 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11527 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11528 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11529 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11530 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11531 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11532 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11533 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11535 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11536 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11537 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11538 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11539 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11540 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11541 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11543 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11544 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11545 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11546 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11547 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11548 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11549 that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
11550 there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
11551 @code{&} split and the catch-all group.
11553 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11558 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11559 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11561 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11562 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11563 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11564 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11566 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11569 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11570 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11571 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11574 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11575 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11576 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11580 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11581 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11582 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11586 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11589 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11590 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11591 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11592 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} may be the name
11593 of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
11594 @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11595 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11596 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11597 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11599 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11600 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11601 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11602 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11603 used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11604 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
11605 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
11606 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
11607 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
11609 @findex gnus-group-split-update
11610 However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
11611 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
11612 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
11613 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
11614 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
11617 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
11620 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
11621 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
11622 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
11623 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional),
11624 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
11627 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
11628 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
11629 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
11630 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
11632 @node Incorporating Old Mail
11633 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
11635 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
11636 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
11637 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
11640 Doing so can be quite easy.
11642 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
11643 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
11644 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
11645 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
11646 your @code{nnml} groups.
11652 Go to the group buffer.
11655 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
11656 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11659 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
11662 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
11663 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11666 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
11667 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
11670 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
11671 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
11672 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
11673 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
11674 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
11676 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
11677 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
11678 using the new mail backend.
11681 @node Expiring Mail
11682 @subsection Expiring Mail
11683 @cindex article expiry
11685 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
11686 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
11687 different approach to mail reading.
11689 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
11690 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
11691 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
11692 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
11693 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
11694 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
11697 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
11698 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
11699 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
11700 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
11701 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
11702 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
11703 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
11704 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
11706 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11707 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
11708 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
11709 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
11710 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
11711 column in the summary buffer.
11713 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
11714 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
11715 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
11716 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
11719 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
11721 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
11722 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
11723 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
11726 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
11727 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
11728 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
11729 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
11730 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
11732 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
11733 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
11736 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11737 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
11740 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
11741 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
11743 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
11744 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
11745 don't really mix very well.
11747 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
11748 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
11749 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
11750 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
11753 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
11754 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
11755 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
11756 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
11759 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11761 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11763 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
11765 ((string= group "mail.junk")
11767 ((string= group "important")
11773 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
11774 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
11776 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
11777 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
11778 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
11781 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
11782 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
11784 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
11785 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
11786 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
11787 other groups instead of deleting them. The @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
11788 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
11789 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
11790 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
11791 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
11792 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
11793 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
11796 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
11797 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
11798 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
11799 easier for procmail users.
11801 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
11802 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
11803 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
11804 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
11805 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
11806 caution. Even more dangerous is the
11807 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
11808 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
11809 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
11810 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
11811 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
11812 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
11813 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
11816 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
11818 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
11819 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
11820 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
11821 auto-expire turned on.
11825 @subsection Washing Mail
11826 @cindex mail washing
11827 @cindex list server brain damage
11828 @cindex incoming mail treatment
11830 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
11831 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
11832 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
11833 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
11834 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
11835 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
11837 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
11838 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
11839 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
11842 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
11843 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
11844 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
11845 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
11848 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
11849 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
11850 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
11851 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
11852 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
11855 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
11856 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
11857 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
11858 Emacs running on MS machines.
11862 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
11863 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
11864 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
11865 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
11868 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
11869 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
11870 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
11871 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
11873 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11874 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11875 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
11876 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
11877 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
11878 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
11879 also be a list of regexp.
11881 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
11882 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
11885 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
11886 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
11889 This can also be done non-destructively with
11890 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
11892 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
11893 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
11894 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
11896 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
11897 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
11899 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
11900 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
11901 @code{References} headers.
11905 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
11906 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
11907 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
11911 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
11912 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
11913 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
11920 @subsection Duplicates
11922 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
11923 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
11924 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
11925 @cindex duplicate mails
11926 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
11927 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
11928 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
11929 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
11930 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
11931 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
11932 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
11933 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
11934 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
11935 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
11936 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
11937 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
11938 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
11940 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
11941 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
11942 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
11943 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
11945 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
11948 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
11949 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
11953 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
11954 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
11955 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
11956 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
11957 (any mail "mail.misc")
11964 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11965 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
11970 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
11971 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
11972 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
11973 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
11974 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
11977 @node Not Reading Mail
11978 @subsection Not Reading Mail
11980 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
11981 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
11982 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
11984 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
11985 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
11986 mail, which should help.
11988 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
11989 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
11990 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
11991 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
11992 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
11993 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
11994 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
11995 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
11996 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
11997 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
11998 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12000 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12001 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12005 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12006 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12008 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12009 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12010 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12012 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12013 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12014 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12015 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12018 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12019 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12020 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12021 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12022 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12023 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12027 @node Unix Mail Box
12028 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12030 @cindex unix mail box
12032 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12033 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12034 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12035 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12036 which group it belongs in.
12038 Virtual server settings:
12041 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12042 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12043 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12045 @item nnmbox-active-file
12046 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12047 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12049 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12050 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12051 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12057 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12061 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12062 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12063 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12064 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12065 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12067 Virtual server settings:
12070 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12071 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12072 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12074 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12075 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12076 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12078 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12079 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12080 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12085 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12087 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12089 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12090 format. It should be used with some caution.
12092 @vindex nnml-directory
12093 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12094 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12095 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12096 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12098 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12101 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12102 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12103 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12104 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12105 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12106 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12107 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12108 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12110 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12111 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12112 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12113 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12115 Virtual server settings:
12118 @item nnml-directory
12119 @vindex nnml-directory
12120 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12122 @item nnml-active-file
12123 @vindex nnml-active-file
12124 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12126 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12127 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12128 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12131 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12132 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12133 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12135 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12136 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12137 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12139 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12140 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12141 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12143 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12144 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12145 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12149 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12150 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12151 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12152 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12153 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12154 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12155 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12160 @subsubsection MH Spool
12162 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12164 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12165 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12166 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12167 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12169 Virtual server settings:
12172 @item nnmh-directory
12173 @vindex nnmh-directory
12174 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12176 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12177 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12178 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12181 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12182 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12183 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12184 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12185 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12186 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12187 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12192 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12194 @cindex mbox folders
12195 @cindex mail folders
12197 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12198 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12199 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12202 Virtual server settings:
12205 @item nnfolder-directory
12206 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12207 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12209 @item nnfolder-active-file
12210 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12211 The name of the active file.
12213 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12214 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12215 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12217 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12218 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12219 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12221 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12222 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12223 @cindex backup files
12224 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12225 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12226 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12227 your @file{.emacs} file:
12230 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12231 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12233 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12236 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12237 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12238 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12239 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12240 extract some information from it before removing it.
12245 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12246 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12247 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12248 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12249 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12250 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12253 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12254 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12256 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12257 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12258 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12259 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12260 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12262 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12263 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12264 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12265 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12266 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12267 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12268 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12269 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12272 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12273 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12274 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12275 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12280 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12281 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12282 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12283 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12284 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12285 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12286 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12287 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12288 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12289 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12290 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12291 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12292 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12297 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12298 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12299 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12300 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12301 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12302 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12303 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12304 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12305 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12306 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12307 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12308 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12309 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12310 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12312 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12313 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12318 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12319 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12320 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12321 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12322 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12323 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12324 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12325 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12326 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12327 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12328 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12329 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12330 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12331 provided by the active file and overviews.
12333 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12334 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12335 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12336 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12337 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12340 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12341 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12346 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12347 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12348 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12349 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12350 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12351 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12352 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12356 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12357 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12358 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12359 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12360 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12361 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12362 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12363 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12364 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12366 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12367 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12368 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12369 friendly mail backend all over.
12374 @node Browsing the Web
12375 @section Browsing the Web
12377 @cindex browsing the web
12381 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12382 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12383 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12384 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12385 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12386 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12387 even know what a news group is.
12389 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12390 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12391 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12392 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12393 you mad in the end.
12395 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12398 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12399 interfaces to these sources.
12402 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12403 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12404 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12405 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12406 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12409 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12411 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12412 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12413 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12414 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12415 though, you should be ok.
12417 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12418 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12419 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12420 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12421 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12425 @subsection Web Searches
12429 @cindex InReference
12430 @cindex Usenet searches
12431 @cindex searching the Usenet
12433 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12434 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12435 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12436 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12437 searches without having to use a browser.
12439 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12440 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12441 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12442 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12443 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12445 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12446 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12447 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12448 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12449 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12450 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12451 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12452 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12453 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12454 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12457 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12458 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12459 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12460 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12461 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12462 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12464 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12465 to use @code{nnweb}.
12467 Virtual server variables:
12472 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12473 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12477 @vindex nnweb-search
12478 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12480 @item nnweb-max-hits
12481 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12482 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12485 @item nnweb-type-definition
12486 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12487 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12488 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12493 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12497 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12500 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12503 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12507 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12514 @subsection Slashdot
12518 Slashdot (@file{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12519 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12520 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12522 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12523 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12526 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12527 '((nnslashdot "")))
12530 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12531 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12532 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12533 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12534 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12537 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12538 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12540 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12541 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12542 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12543 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12544 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12545 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12548 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12551 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12552 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12553 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12554 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12555 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12556 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12557 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12559 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12560 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12561 The login name to use when posting.
12563 @item nnslashdot-password
12564 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12565 The password to use when posting.
12567 @item nnslashdot-directory
12568 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12569 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12570 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12572 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12573 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12574 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12575 news articles and comments. The default is
12576 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12578 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12579 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12580 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12582 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12584 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12585 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12586 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12588 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12590 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12591 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
12592 The score threshold. The default is -1.
12594 @item nnslashdot-group-number
12595 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
12596 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
12597 updated. The default is 0.
12604 @subsection Ultimate
12606 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
12608 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@file{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
12609 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
12610 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
12611 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
12613 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
12614 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
12615 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
12616 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
12617 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
12618 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
12619 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
12621 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
12624 @item nnultimate-directory
12625 @vindex nnultimate-directory
12626 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
12627 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
12632 @subsection Web Archive
12634 @cindex Web Archive
12636 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
12637 @file{http://www.egroups.com/} and
12638 @file{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
12639 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
12642 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
12643 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
12644 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
12645 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
12646 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
12647 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
12648 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
12650 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
12653 @item nnwarchive-directory
12654 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
12655 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
12656 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
12658 @item nnwarchive-login
12659 @vindex nnwarchive-login
12660 The account name on the web server.
12662 @item nnwarchive-passwd
12663 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
12664 The password for your account on the web server.
12668 @node Customizing w3
12669 @subsection Customizing w3
12675 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
12676 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
12677 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
12679 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
12680 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
12681 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
12684 (eval-after-load "w3"
12686 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
12687 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
12688 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
12689 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
12691 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
12694 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
12695 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
12699 @node Other Sources
12700 @section Other Sources
12702 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
12703 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
12707 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
12708 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
12709 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
12710 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
12711 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
12712 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
12716 @node Directory Groups
12717 @subsection Directory Groups
12719 @cindex directory groups
12721 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
12722 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
12725 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
12726 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
12727 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
12728 backend to read directories. Big deal.
12730 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
12731 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
12732 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
12733 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
12734 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
12736 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
12738 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
12739 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
12740 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
12741 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
12744 @node Anything Groups
12745 @subsection Anything Groups
12748 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
12749 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
12750 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
12753 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
12754 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
12755 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
12756 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
12757 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
12758 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
12759 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
12760 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
12761 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
12762 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
12765 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
12766 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
12767 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
12768 in the article buffer, just as usual.
12770 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
12771 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
12772 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
12773 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
12775 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
12776 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
12777 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
12778 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
12779 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
12780 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
12781 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
12782 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
12787 @item nneething-map-file-directory
12788 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
12789 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
12790 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
12792 @item nneething-exclude-files
12793 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
12794 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
12795 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
12797 @item nneething-include-files
12798 @vindex nneething-include-files
12799 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
12800 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
12802 @item nneething-map-file
12803 @vindex nneething-map-file
12804 Name of the map files.
12808 @node Document Groups
12809 @subsection Document Groups
12811 @cindex documentation group
12814 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
12815 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
12822 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
12827 The standard Unix mbox file.
12829 @cindex MMDF mail box
12831 The MMDF mail box format.
12834 Several news articles appended into a file.
12837 @cindex rnews batch files
12838 The rnews batch transport format.
12839 @cindex forwarded messages
12842 Forwarded articles.
12845 Netscape mail boxes.
12848 MIME multipart messages.
12850 @item standard-digest
12851 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
12854 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
12857 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
12858 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
12859 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
12862 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
12863 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
12864 group. And that's it.
12866 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
12867 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
12868 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
12869 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
12870 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
12871 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
12872 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
12873 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
12874 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
12875 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
12877 Virtual server variables:
12880 @item nndoc-article-type
12881 @vindex nndoc-article-type
12882 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
12883 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
12884 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
12885 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
12887 @item nndoc-post-type
12888 @vindex nndoc-post-type
12889 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
12890 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
12895 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
12899 @node Document Server Internals
12900 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
12902 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
12903 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
12904 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
12905 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
12907 First, here's an example document type definition:
12911 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
12912 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
12915 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
12916 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
12917 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
12918 types can be defined with very few settings:
12921 @item first-article
12922 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
12923 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
12926 @item article-begin
12927 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
12928 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
12930 @item head-begin-function
12931 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
12934 @item nndoc-head-begin
12935 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
12938 @item nndoc-head-end
12939 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
12940 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
12942 @item body-begin-function
12943 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
12947 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
12950 @item body-end-function
12951 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
12955 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
12958 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
12959 regexp will be totally ignored.
12963 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
12964 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
12965 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
12966 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
12967 something that's palatable for Gnus:
12970 @item prepare-body-function
12971 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
12972 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
12973 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
12975 @item article-transform-function
12976 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
12977 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
12978 body of the article.
12980 @item generate-head-function
12981 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
12982 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
12983 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
12984 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
12988 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
12993 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
12994 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
12995 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
12996 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
12997 (head-end . "^ ?$")
12998 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
12999 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13000 (subtype digest guess))
13003 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13004 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13005 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13006 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13007 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13009 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13010 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13011 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13012 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13013 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
13014 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13015 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13016 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13017 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13018 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13026 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13027 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13028 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13030 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13031 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13032 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13035 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13036 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13037 that interested in doing things properly.
13039 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13040 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13043 First some terminology:
13048 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13049 get news and/or mail from.
13052 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13053 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13056 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13060 @item message packets
13061 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13062 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13063 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13065 @item response packets
13066 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13067 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13068 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13078 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13079 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13080 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13081 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13084 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13087 You put the packet in your home directory.
13090 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13091 the native or secondary server.
13094 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13095 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13098 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13102 You transfer this packet to the server.
13105 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13108 You then repeat until you die.
13112 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13113 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13116 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13117 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13118 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13122 @node SOUP Commands
13123 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13125 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13129 @kindex G s b (Group)
13130 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13131 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13132 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13133 process/prefix convention.
13136 @kindex G s w (Group)
13137 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13138 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13141 @kindex G s s (Group)
13142 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13143 Send all replies from the replies packet
13144 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13147 @kindex G s p (Group)
13148 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13149 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13152 @kindex G s r (Group)
13153 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13154 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13157 @kindex O s (Summary)
13158 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13159 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13160 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13161 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13166 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13171 @item gnus-soup-directory
13172 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13173 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13174 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13176 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13177 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13178 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13179 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13181 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13182 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13183 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13184 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13186 @item gnus-soup-packer
13187 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13188 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13189 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13191 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13192 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13193 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13194 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13196 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13197 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13198 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13200 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13201 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13202 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13203 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13209 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13212 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13213 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13214 you can read them at leisure.
13216 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13220 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13221 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13222 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13223 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13225 @item nnsoup-directory
13226 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13227 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13228 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13230 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13231 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13232 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13233 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13235 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13236 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13237 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13238 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13239 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13241 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13242 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13243 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13244 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13246 @item nnsoup-active-file
13247 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13248 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13249 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13250 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13251 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13253 @item nnsoup-packer
13254 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13255 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13256 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13258 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13259 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13260 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13261 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13263 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13264 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13265 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13268 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13269 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13270 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13273 @item nnsoup-always-save
13274 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13275 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13281 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13283 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13284 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13285 more for that to happen.
13287 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13288 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13289 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13292 In specific, this is what it does:
13295 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13296 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13299 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13300 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13301 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13304 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13305 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13306 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13309 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13310 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13311 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13313 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13319 @item nngateway-address
13320 @vindex nngateway-address
13321 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13323 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13324 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13325 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13326 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13327 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13328 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13329 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13332 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13333 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13334 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13337 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13340 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13343 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13346 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13348 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13351 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13352 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13353 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13355 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13357 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13358 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13359 @code{nngateway-address}.
13364 (setq gnus-post-method
13365 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13366 (nngateway-header-transformation
13367 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13375 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13378 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13384 @subsection @sc{imap}
13388 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13389 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13390 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13391 network address of the server.
13393 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13398 @item nnimap-address
13399 @vindex nnimap-address
13401 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13402 server name if not specified.
13404 @item nnimap-server-port
13405 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13406 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13408 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13409 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13410 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13411 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13412 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13413 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13414 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13416 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13417 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13418 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13424 ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*" ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))
13427 @item nnimap-stream
13428 @vindex nnimap-stream
13429 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13430 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13431 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13432 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13436 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13437 @samp{imtest} program.
13439 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13441 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13442 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13445 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13446 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13448 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13451 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13452 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x.
13454 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13455 @file{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13456 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of SSLeay,
13457 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it useless. Earlier
13458 versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to work.
13460 @item nnimap-authenticator
13461 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13463 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13464 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13468 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13469 external program @code{imtest}.
13471 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13474 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13475 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13477 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13479 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13481 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13484 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13486 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13487 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13488 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13489 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13490 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13491 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13494 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13495 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13496 running in circles yet?
13498 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13499 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13502 The possible options are:
13507 The default behaviour, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13510 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13511 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13512 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13513 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13515 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13522 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
13523 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
13524 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
13529 @node Splitting in IMAP
13530 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
13531 @cindex splitting imap mail
13533 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
13534 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
13535 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
13536 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
13537 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
13541 Here are the variables of interest:
13545 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
13546 @cindex splitting, crosspost
13548 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
13550 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
13551 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
13553 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
13555 @item nnimap-split-inbox
13556 @cindex splitting, inbox
13558 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
13560 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
13561 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
13565 (setq nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
13568 No nnmail equivalent.
13570 @item nnimap-split-rule
13571 @cindex Splitting, rules
13572 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
13574 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
13577 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
13578 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
13579 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
13580 Neither did I, we need examples.
13583 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13584 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
13585 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
13586 ("INBOX.private" "")))
13589 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
13590 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
13591 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
13593 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
13594 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
13598 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
13601 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13602 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
13603 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
13604 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
13606 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
13607 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
13608 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
13609 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
13610 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
13611 them every time you fetch new mail.)
13613 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
13614 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
13615 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
13617 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
13618 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
13619 thinks the article should be splitted to.
13621 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
13623 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
13625 @item nnimap-split-predicate
13627 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
13629 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
13630 splitted, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
13632 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
13633 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
13634 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
13637 @item nnimap-split-fancy
13638 @cindex splitting, fancy
13639 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
13640 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
13642 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13643 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
13644 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13646 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
13647 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13648 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
13649 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13654 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
13655 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
13658 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
13662 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
13663 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13664 @cindex editing imap acls
13665 @cindex Access Control Lists
13666 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13668 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
13670 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
13671 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
13672 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
13675 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
13676 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
13677 editing window with detailed instructions.
13679 Some possible uses:
13683 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
13684 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
13685 follow the list without subscribing to it.
13687 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
13688 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
13689 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
13693 @node Expunging mailboxes
13694 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
13698 @cindex Manual expunging
13700 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
13702 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
13703 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
13704 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
13706 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
13711 @node Combined Groups
13712 @section Combined Groups
13714 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
13718 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
13719 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
13723 @node Virtual Groups
13724 @subsection Virtual Groups
13726 @cindex virtual groups
13727 @cindex merging groups
13729 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
13732 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
13733 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
13734 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
13736 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
13737 regexp to match component groups.
13739 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
13740 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
13741 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
13742 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
13743 the virtual group.)
13745 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
13746 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
13749 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
13752 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
13753 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
13755 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
13756 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
13757 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
13758 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
13761 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
13764 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
13765 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
13766 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
13768 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
13769 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
13770 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
13771 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
13772 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
13774 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
13775 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
13776 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
13778 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
13779 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
13780 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
13781 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13782 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
13783 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
13784 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
13785 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
13786 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
13787 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
13788 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
13790 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
13791 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
13792 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
13793 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
13794 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
13795 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
13796 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
13798 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
13799 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
13803 @node Kibozed Groups
13804 @subsection Kibozed Groups
13808 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
13809 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
13810 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
13811 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
13813 @kindex G k (Group)
13814 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
13817 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
13818 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
13819 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
13820 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
13822 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
13823 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
13824 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
13826 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
13827 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
13828 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
13829 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
13830 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
13831 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
13832 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
13833 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
13835 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
13836 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
13837 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
13838 Stranger things have happened.
13840 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
13841 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
13843 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
13844 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
13845 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
13846 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
13847 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
13848 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
13850 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
13851 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
13854 @node Gnus Unplugged
13855 @section Gnus Unplugged
13860 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
13862 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
13863 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
13864 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
13865 read news. Believe it or not.
13867 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
13868 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
13869 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
13870 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
13871 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
13873 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
13874 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
13875 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
13876 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
13877 reading news on a machine.
13879 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
13883 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
13884 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
13888 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
13889 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13896 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
13898 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
13901 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
13902 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
13903 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
13904 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
13905 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
13906 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
13907 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
13908 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
13909 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
13914 @subsection Agent Basics
13916 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
13918 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
13919 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
13920 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
13921 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
13923 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
13924 connected to the net continuously.
13926 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
13927 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
13929 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
13934 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
13935 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
13936 already fetched while in this mode.
13939 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
13940 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
13941 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
13944 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
13945 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
13946 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
13947 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
13950 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
13951 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
13952 then you read the news offline.
13955 And then you go to step 2.
13958 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
13964 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
13965 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
13966 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
13967 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
13968 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
13969 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
13972 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
13979 @node Agent Categories
13980 @subsection Agent Categories
13982 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
13983 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
13984 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
13985 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
13986 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
13987 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
13988 you're interested in the articles anyway.
13990 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
13991 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
13992 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
13993 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
13994 managing categories.
13997 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
13998 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
13999 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14003 @node Category Syntax
14004 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14006 A category consists of two things.
14010 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14011 are eligible for downloading; and
14014 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14015 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14016 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14019 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14020 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14021 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14022 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14024 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14025 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14026 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
14028 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14029 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14030 operators sprinkled in between.
14032 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14034 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14035 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14041 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14042 short (for some value of ``short'').
14044 Here's a more complex predicate:
14053 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14054 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14057 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14058 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14059 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14061 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14062 you want to do, you can write your own.
14066 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14067 lines; default 100.
14070 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14071 lines; default 200.
14074 True iff the article has a download score less than
14075 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14078 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14079 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14082 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14083 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14084 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14093 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14094 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14095 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14098 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14099 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14100 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14101 something along the lines of the following:
14104 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14105 "Say whether an article is old."
14106 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14107 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14110 with the predicate then defined as:
14113 (not my-article-old-p)
14116 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14117 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14118 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14119 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14122 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
14123 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14124 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14127 and simply specify your predicate as:
14133 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14134 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14135 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14136 just don't give a damm.
14138 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14139 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14140 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14141 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14142 parameters like so:
14145 (agent-predicate . short)
14148 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14149 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14150 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14152 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14155 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14158 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14159 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14160 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14163 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14164 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14165 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14166 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14167 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14168 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14170 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14171 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14172 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14173 if it's to be specific to that group.
14175 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14182 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14183 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14189 Category specification
14193 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14199 Group Parameter specification
14202 (agent-score ("from"
14203 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14208 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14214 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14221 Category specification
14224 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14230 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14234 Group Parameter specification
14237 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14240 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14245 Use @code{normal} score files
14247 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14248 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14249 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14250 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14252 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14253 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14254 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14255 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14259 Category Specification
14266 Group Parameter specification
14269 (agent-score . file)
14274 @node The Category Buffer
14275 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14277 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14278 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14279 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14281 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14285 @kindex q (Category)
14286 @findex gnus-category-exit
14287 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14290 @kindex k (Category)
14291 @findex gnus-category-kill
14292 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14295 @kindex c (Category)
14296 @findex gnus-category-copy
14297 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14300 @kindex a (Category)
14301 @findex gnus-category-add
14302 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14305 @kindex p (Category)
14306 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14307 Edit the predicate of the current category
14308 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14311 @kindex g (Category)
14312 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14313 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14314 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14317 @kindex s (Category)
14318 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14319 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14320 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14323 @kindex l (Category)
14324 @findex gnus-category-list
14325 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14329 @node Category Variables
14330 @subsubsection Category Variables
14333 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14334 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14335 Hook run in category buffers.
14337 @item gnus-category-line-format
14338 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14339 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14340 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14344 The name of the category.
14347 The number of groups in the category.
14350 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14351 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14352 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14354 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14355 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14356 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14358 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14359 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14360 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14362 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14363 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14364 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14367 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14368 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14369 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14375 @node Agent Commands
14376 @subsection Agent Commands
14378 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14379 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14380 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14384 * Group Agent Commands::
14385 * Summary Agent Commands::
14386 * Server Agent Commands::
14389 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14390 following incantation:
14392 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14394 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14399 @node Group Agent Commands
14400 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14404 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14405 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14406 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14407 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14410 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14411 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14412 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14415 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14416 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14417 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14418 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14421 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14422 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14423 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14424 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14427 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14428 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14429 Add the current group to an Agent category
14430 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14431 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14434 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14435 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14436 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14437 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14438 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14443 @node Summary Agent Commands
14444 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14448 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14449 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14450 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14453 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14454 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14455 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14456 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14459 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14460 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14461 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14464 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14465 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14466 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14471 @node Server Agent Commands
14472 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14476 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14477 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
14478 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
14479 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
14482 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
14483 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
14484 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
14485 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
14491 @subsection Agent Expiry
14493 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
14494 @findex gnus-agent-expire
14495 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
14496 @cindex Agent expiry
14497 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
14500 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
14501 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
14502 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
14503 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
14504 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
14505 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
14507 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
14508 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
14509 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
14510 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
14511 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
14514 @node Outgoing Messages
14515 @subsection Outgoing Messages
14517 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
14518 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
14519 after posting, and edit them at will.
14521 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
14522 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
14523 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
14524 messages in the draft group.
14528 @node Agent Variables
14529 @subsection Agent Variables
14532 @item gnus-agent-directory
14533 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
14534 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
14535 @file{~/News/agent/}.
14537 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
14538 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
14539 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
14540 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
14541 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
14544 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14545 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14546 Hook run when connecting to the network.
14548 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14549 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14550 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
14555 @node Example Setup
14556 @subsection Example Setup
14558 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
14559 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
14560 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
14563 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
14564 ;;; from your ISP's server.
14565 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
14567 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
14568 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
14569 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
14571 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
14572 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14574 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
14578 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
14579 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
14582 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
14583 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
14584 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
14585 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
14586 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
14589 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
14590 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
14591 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
14592 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
14593 back all the killed groups.)
14595 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
14596 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
14597 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
14600 @node Batching Agents
14601 @subsection Batching Agents
14603 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
14604 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
14605 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
14609 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
14613 @node Agent Caveats
14614 @subsection Agent Caveats
14616 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
14617 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
14621 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
14626 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
14627 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
14633 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
14634 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
14641 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
14642 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
14643 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
14646 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
14647 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
14648 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
14649 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
14650 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
14652 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
14653 before generating the summary buffer.
14655 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
14656 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
14657 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
14659 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
14660 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
14661 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
14662 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
14665 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
14666 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
14667 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
14668 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
14669 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
14670 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
14671 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
14672 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
14673 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
14674 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
14675 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
14676 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
14677 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
14678 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
14679 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
14680 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
14684 @node Summary Score Commands
14685 @section Summary Score Commands
14686 @cindex score commands
14688 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
14689 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
14690 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
14691 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
14692 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
14694 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
14695 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
14696 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
14697 score file the current one.
14699 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
14704 @kindex V s (Summary)
14705 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
14706 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
14709 @kindex V S (Summary)
14710 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
14711 Display the score of the current article
14712 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
14715 @kindex V t (Summary)
14716 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
14717 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
14718 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
14721 @kindex V R (Summary)
14722 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
14723 Run the current summary through the scoring process
14724 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
14725 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
14726 effect you're having.
14729 @kindex V c (Summary)
14730 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
14731 Make a different score file the current
14732 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
14735 @kindex V e (Summary)
14736 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
14737 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
14738 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
14742 @kindex V f (Summary)
14743 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
14744 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
14745 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
14748 @kindex V F (Summary)
14749 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
14750 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
14751 after editing score files.
14754 @kindex V C (Summary)
14755 @findex gnus-score-customize
14756 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
14757 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
14761 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
14766 @kindex V m (Summary)
14767 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
14768 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
14769 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
14772 @kindex V x (Summary)
14773 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
14774 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
14775 expunge all articles below this score
14776 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
14779 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
14780 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
14783 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
14784 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
14788 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
14789 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
14791 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
14792 keys are available:
14796 Score on the author name.
14799 Score on the subject line.
14802 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
14805 Score on the @code{References} line.
14811 Score on the number of lines.
14814 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
14817 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
14818 the followups to this author.
14832 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
14833 what headers you are scoring on.
14845 Substring matching.
14848 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
14877 Greater than number.
14882 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
14883 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
14884 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
14888 Temporary score entry.
14891 Permanent score entry.
14894 Immediately scoring.
14899 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
14900 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
14901 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
14902 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
14904 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
14905 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
14906 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
14907 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
14908 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
14910 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
14911 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
14912 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
14913 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
14914 current score file.
14916 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
14917 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
14918 pretend they are keymaps or not.
14921 @node Group Score Commands
14922 @section Group Score Commands
14923 @cindex group score commands
14925 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
14930 @kindex W f (Group)
14931 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
14932 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
14933 all the time. This command will flush the cache
14934 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
14938 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
14940 @findex gnus-batch-score
14941 @cindex batch scoring
14943 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
14947 @node Score Variables
14948 @section Score Variables
14949 @cindex score variables
14953 @item gnus-use-scoring
14954 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
14955 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
14956 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
14958 @item gnus-kill-killed
14959 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
14960 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
14961 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
14962 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
14963 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
14964 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
14965 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
14967 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
14968 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
14969 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
14970 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
14971 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
14973 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
14974 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
14975 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
14976 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
14978 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
14979 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
14980 @cindex score cache
14981 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
14982 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
14983 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
14984 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
14985 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
14986 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
14989 @item gnus-save-score
14990 @vindex gnus-save-score
14991 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
14992 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
14993 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
14995 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
14996 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
14997 across group visits.
14999 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15000 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15001 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15002 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15003 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15004 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15005 manually entered data.
15007 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15008 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15009 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15011 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15012 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15013 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15014 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15015 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15016 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15018 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15019 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15020 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15021 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15023 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15024 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15025 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15026 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15028 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15029 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15030 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15031 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15033 Predefined functions available are:
15036 @item gnus-score-find-single
15037 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15038 Only apply the group's own score file.
15040 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15041 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15042 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15043 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15044 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15045 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15046 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15047 then a regexp match is done.
15049 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15050 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15052 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15053 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15054 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15055 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15057 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15058 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15059 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15060 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15061 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
15064 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15065 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
15066 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
15067 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
15068 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
15069 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
15072 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15073 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15074 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15075 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15076 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15078 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15079 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15080 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15081 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15082 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15083 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15084 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15087 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15088 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15089 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15091 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15092 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15093 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15094 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15095 threading---according to the current value of
15096 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15097 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15098 simplified in this manner.
15103 @node Score File Format
15104 @section Score File Format
15105 @cindex score file format
15107 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15108 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15109 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15111 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15115 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15117 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15119 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15121 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15126 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15130 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15131 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15132 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15133 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15137 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15138 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15140 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15141 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15142 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15144 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15149 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15150 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15151 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15152 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15153 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15154 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15155 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15156 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15157 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15158 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15159 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15160 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15161 to articles that matches these score entries.
15163 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15164 score entry has one to four elements.
15168 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15169 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15173 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15174 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15175 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15176 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15177 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15178 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15181 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15182 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15183 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15184 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15185 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15188 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15189 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15190 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15191 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15194 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15195 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15196 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15197 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15198 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15199 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15200 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15201 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15202 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15203 instead, if you feel like.
15206 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15207 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15209 These predicates are true if
15212 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15215 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15216 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15223 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15224 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15225 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15226 it's not. I think.)
15228 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15229 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15230 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15231 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15234 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15235 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15236 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15237 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15238 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15239 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15240 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15244 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15245 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15246 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15247 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15248 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15249 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15250 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15251 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15254 @item Head, Body, All
15255 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15259 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15260 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15261 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15262 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15263 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15264 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15265 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15269 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15270 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15271 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15272 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15273 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15274 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15275 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15276 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15277 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15278 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15279 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15283 @cindex Score File Atoms
15285 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15286 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15289 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15290 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15292 @item mark-and-expunge
15293 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15294 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15297 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15298 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15299 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15300 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15301 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15304 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15305 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15308 @item exclude-files
15309 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15310 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15314 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15315 ignored when handling global score files.
15318 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15319 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15320 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15321 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15324 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15325 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15326 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15327 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15329 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15333 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15336 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15337 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15338 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15339 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15340 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15342 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15343 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15344 ordinary scoring rules.
15347 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15348 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15349 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15350 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15351 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15352 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15353 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15354 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15355 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15356 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15357 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15361 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15362 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15363 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15364 file for a number of groups.
15367 @cindex local variables
15368 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15369 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15370 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15371 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15372 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15376 @node Score File Editing
15377 @section Score File Editing
15379 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15380 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15381 with a mode for that.
15383 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15384 additional commands:
15389 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15390 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15391 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15392 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15395 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15396 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15397 Insert the current date in numerical format
15398 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15399 you were wondering.
15402 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15403 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15404 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15405 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15406 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15411 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15413 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15414 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15416 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
15417 e} to begin editing score files.
15420 @node Adaptive Scoring
15421 @section Adaptive Scoring
15422 @cindex adaptive scoring
15424 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
15425 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
15426 stupidity, to be precise.
15428 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
15429 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
15430 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
15431 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
15432 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15433 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
15434 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
15435 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
15436 variable to @code{(word line)}.
15438 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15439 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
15440 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
15441 might look something like this:
15444 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15445 '((gnus-unread-mark)
15446 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
15447 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
15448 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
15449 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
15450 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
15451 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
15452 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
15453 (gnus-ancient-mark)
15454 (gnus-low-score-mark)
15455 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
15458 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
15459 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
15460 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
15461 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
15462 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
15463 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
15466 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
15467 will be applied to each article.
15469 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
15470 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
15471 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
15472 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
15474 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
15475 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
15476 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
15477 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
15479 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
15480 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
15481 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
15482 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
15484 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
15485 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
15486 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
15487 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
15488 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
15489 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
15491 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
15492 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
15493 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
15494 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
15495 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
15496 aspirins afterwards.)
15498 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
15499 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
15500 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
15502 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
15503 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
15504 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
15506 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
15507 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
15508 let you use different rules in different groups.
15510 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
15511 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
15512 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
15515 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
15516 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
15517 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
15518 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
15519 the length of the match is less than
15520 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
15521 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
15524 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15525 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
15526 headers. If you adapt on words, the
15527 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
15528 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
15531 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15532 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
15533 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
15534 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
15535 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
15538 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
15539 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
15540 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
15541 score with 30 points.
15543 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
15544 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
15545 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
15546 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
15547 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
15549 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
15550 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
15551 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
15552 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
15554 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
15555 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
15556 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
15557 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
15559 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
15560 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
15561 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
15562 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
15563 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
15565 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
15566 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
15567 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
15569 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
15570 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
15571 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
15572 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
15575 @node Home Score File
15576 @section Home Score File
15578 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
15579 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
15580 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
15581 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
15583 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
15584 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
15585 could perhaps use the same home score file.
15587 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
15588 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
15593 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
15597 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
15598 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
15602 A list. The elements in this list can be:
15606 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
15607 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
15610 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
15611 the home score file.
15614 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
15617 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
15622 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
15625 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15626 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
15629 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
15630 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
15632 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
15634 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15635 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
15638 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
15639 Other functions include
15642 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
15643 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
15644 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
15645 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
15649 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
15650 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
15651 their own home score files:
15654 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15655 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
15656 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
15657 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
15658 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
15661 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
15662 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
15663 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
15664 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
15665 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
15667 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
15668 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
15669 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
15670 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
15671 precedence over this variable.
15674 @node Followups To Yourself
15675 @section Followups To Yourself
15677 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
15678 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
15679 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
15680 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
15681 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
15682 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
15686 @item gnus-score-followup-article
15687 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
15688 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
15691 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
15692 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
15693 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
15697 @vindex message-sent-hook
15698 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
15699 @code{message-sent-hook}.
15701 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
15702 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
15706 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15707 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15710 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
15711 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
15716 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
15720 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
15721 is system-dependent.
15725 @section Scoring Tips
15726 @cindex scoring tips
15732 @cindex scoring crossposts
15733 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
15734 the @code{Xref} header.
15736 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
15739 @item Multiple crossposts
15740 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
15741 more than, say, 3 groups:
15743 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
15746 @item Matching on the body
15747 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
15748 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
15749 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
15750 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
15751 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
15752 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
15753 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
15756 @item Marking as read
15757 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
15758 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
15759 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
15763 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
15765 @item Negated character classes
15766 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
15767 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
15768 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
15772 @node Reverse Scoring
15773 @section Reverse Scoring
15774 @cindex reverse scoring
15776 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
15777 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
15778 like this in your score file:
15782 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
15787 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
15788 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
15791 @node Global Score Files
15792 @section Global Score Files
15793 @cindex global score files
15795 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
15796 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
15797 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
15799 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
15800 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
15801 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
15803 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
15804 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
15805 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
15806 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
15807 files are applicable to which group.
15809 Say you want to use the score file
15810 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
15811 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
15814 (setq gnus-global-score-files
15815 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
15816 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
15819 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
15820 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
15821 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
15822 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
15823 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
15825 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
15826 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
15828 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
15829 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
15830 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
15831 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
15832 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
15833 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
15835 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
15841 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
15843 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
15845 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
15847 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
15848 lowered out of existence.
15850 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
15851 articles completely.
15854 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
15855 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
15856 old articles for a long time.
15859 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
15860 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
15861 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
15862 holding our breath yet?
15866 @section Kill Files
15869 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
15870 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
15871 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
15873 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
15874 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
15875 files into score files.
15877 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
15878 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
15879 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
15880 that isn't a very good idea.
15882 Normal kill files look like this:
15885 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15886 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
15890 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
15891 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
15893 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
15894 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
15897 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
15902 @kindex M-k (Summary)
15903 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
15904 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
15907 @kindex M-K (Summary)
15908 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
15909 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
15912 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
15917 @kindex M-k (Group)
15918 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
15919 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
15922 @kindex M-K (Group)
15923 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
15924 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
15927 Kill file variables:
15930 @item gnus-kill-file-name
15931 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
15932 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
15933 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
15934 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
15935 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
15936 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
15938 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
15939 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
15940 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
15941 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
15944 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
15945 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
15946 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
15947 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
15948 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
15949 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
15950 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
15951 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
15952 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
15954 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
15955 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
15956 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
15961 @node Converting Kill Files
15962 @section Converting Kill Files
15964 @cindex converting kill files
15966 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
15967 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
15968 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
15971 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
15972 You can fetch it from
15973 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
15975 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
15976 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
15977 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
15985 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
15986 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
15987 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
15989 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
15990 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
15991 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
15992 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
15993 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
15994 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
15995 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
15996 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16000 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16001 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16002 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16003 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16007 @node Using GroupLens
16008 @subsection Using GroupLens
16010 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16012 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16013 better bit in town at the moment.
16015 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16019 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16020 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16021 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16022 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16024 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16025 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16026 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16027 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16029 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16030 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16031 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16035 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16036 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16037 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16038 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16039 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16040 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16043 @node Rating Articles
16044 @subsection Rating Articles
16046 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16047 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16048 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16049 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16052 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16057 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16058 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16059 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16062 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16063 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16064 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16065 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16066 threads in rec.humor.
16070 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16071 the score of the article you're reading.
16076 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16077 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16078 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16081 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16082 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16083 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16087 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16088 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16091 @node Displaying Predictions
16092 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16094 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16095 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16096 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16097 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16098 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16100 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16101 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16102 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16103 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16104 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16105 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16106 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16107 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16108 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16109 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16110 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16111 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16112 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16114 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16115 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16116 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16117 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16119 The following are valid values for that variable.
16122 @item prediction-spot
16123 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16126 @item confidence-interval
16127 A numeric confidence interval.
16129 @item prediction-bar
16130 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16132 @item confidence-bar
16133 Numerical confidence.
16135 @item confidence-spot
16136 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16138 @item prediction-num
16139 Plain-old numeric value.
16141 @item confidence-plus-minus
16142 Prediction +/- confidence.
16147 @node GroupLens Variables
16148 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16152 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16153 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16154 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16155 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16158 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16159 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16162 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16163 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16165 @item grouplens-score-offset
16166 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16167 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16170 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16171 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16172 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16177 @node Advanced Scoring
16178 @section Advanced Scoring
16180 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16181 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16182 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16183 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16184 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16186 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16190 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16191 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16192 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16196 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16197 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16199 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16200 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16201 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16202 non-@code{nil} value.
16204 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16205 operator, and various match operators.
16212 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16213 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16214 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16219 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16220 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16221 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16226 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16227 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16231 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16232 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16233 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16234 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16235 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16236 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16237 the ancestry you want to go.
16239 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16240 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16241 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16242 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16243 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16246 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16247 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16249 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16250 when he's talking about Gnus:
16254 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16255 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16261 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16265 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16272 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16273 really don't want to read what he's written:
16277 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16278 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16282 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16283 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16284 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16291 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16292 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16293 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16294 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16298 The possibilities are endless.
16301 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16302 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16304 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16305 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16306 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16307 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16308 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16309 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16310 @samp{subject}) first.
16312 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16313 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16324 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16325 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16331 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16338 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16339 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16344 @section Score Decays
16345 @cindex score decays
16348 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16349 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16350 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16351 use them in any sensible way.
16353 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16354 @findex gnus-decay-score
16355 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16356 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16357 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16358 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16359 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16360 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16361 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16362 definition of that function:
16365 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16367 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16368 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16371 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16373 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16375 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16378 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16379 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16380 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16381 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16385 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16388 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16391 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16395 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16396 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16397 the new score, which should be an integer.
16399 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16400 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16407 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16408 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16409 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16410 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16411 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16412 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
16413 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
16414 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
16415 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
16416 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
16417 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
16418 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
16419 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
16420 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
16421 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
16422 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
16423 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
16424 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
16428 @node Process/Prefix
16429 @section Process/Prefix
16430 @cindex process/prefix convention
16432 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
16433 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
16435 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
16436 command to be performed on.
16440 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
16441 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
16442 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
16443 with the current one.
16445 @vindex transient-mark-mode
16446 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
16447 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
16449 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
16450 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
16453 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
16454 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
16456 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
16459 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
16460 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
16461 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
16462 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16464 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
16465 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
16466 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
16467 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
16468 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
16469 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
16470 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
16471 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
16473 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
16474 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
16475 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
16476 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
16477 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
16481 @section Interactive
16482 @cindex interaction
16486 @item gnus-novice-user
16487 @vindex gnus-novice-user
16488 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
16489 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
16490 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
16491 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
16494 @item gnus-expert-user
16495 @vindex gnus-expert-user
16496 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
16497 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
16498 matter how strange.
16500 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
16501 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
16502 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
16503 is @code{t} by default.
16505 @item gnus-interactive-exit
16506 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
16507 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16512 @node Symbolic Prefixes
16513 @section Symbolic Prefixes
16514 @cindex symbolic prefixes
16516 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
16517 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
16518 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
16519 rule of 900 to the current article.
16521 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
16522 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
16523 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
16524 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
16525 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
16526 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
16527 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
16529 @kindex M-i (Summary)
16530 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
16531 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
16532 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
16533 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
16534 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
16535 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
16536 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
16537 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
16539 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
16540 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
16541 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
16543 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
16547 @node Formatting Variables
16548 @section Formatting Variables
16549 @cindex formatting variables
16551 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
16552 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
16553 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
16554 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
16555 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
16558 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
16559 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
16560 lots of percentages everywhere.
16563 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
16564 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
16565 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
16566 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
16567 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
16570 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
16571 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
16572 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
16573 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
16574 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
16575 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
16576 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
16577 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
16579 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
16580 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
16582 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
16583 @findex gnus-update-format
16584 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
16585 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
16586 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
16587 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
16591 @node Formatting Basics
16592 @subsection Formatting Basics
16594 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
16595 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
16596 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
16598 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
16599 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
16600 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
16601 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
16602 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
16605 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
16606 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
16607 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
16608 less than 4 characters wide.
16611 @node Mode Line Formatting
16612 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
16614 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
16615 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
16616 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
16617 with the following two differences:
16622 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
16625 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
16626 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
16627 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
16628 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
16629 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
16630 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
16631 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
16636 @node Advanced Formatting
16637 @subsection Advanced Formatting
16639 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
16640 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
16641 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
16642 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
16644 These are the valid modifiers:
16649 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
16653 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
16658 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
16661 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
16666 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
16669 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
16672 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
16675 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
16679 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
16680 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
16681 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
16682 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
16683 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
16684 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
16685 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
16687 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
16688 last operation, padding.
16690 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
16691 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
16692 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
16693 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
16694 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
16695 the look of your lines.
16696 @xref{Compilation}.
16699 @node User-Defined Specs
16700 @subsection User-Defined Specs
16702 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
16703 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
16704 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
16705 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
16706 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
16707 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
16708 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
16709 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
16710 should protect against that.
16712 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
16713 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
16714 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
16715 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
16719 @node Formatting Fonts
16720 @subsection Formatting Fonts
16722 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
16723 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
16724 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
16725 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
16728 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
16729 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
16730 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
16731 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
16732 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
16733 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
16735 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
16736 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
16737 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
16738 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
16739 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
16740 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
16741 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
16742 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
16744 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
16747 ;; Create three face types.
16748 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
16749 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
16751 ;; We want the article count to be in
16752 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
16753 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
16754 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
16756 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
16757 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
16759 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
16760 (setq gnus-group-line-format
16761 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
16764 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
16765 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
16767 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
16768 mode-line variables.
16771 @node Windows Configuration
16772 @section Windows Configuration
16773 @cindex windows configuration
16775 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
16777 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
16778 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
16779 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
16780 @code{t} by default.
16782 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
16783 glitches. Use at your own peril.
16785 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
16786 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
16787 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
16790 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
16791 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
16792 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
16796 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
16797 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
16798 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
16799 possible names is listed below.
16801 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
16802 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
16805 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
16809 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
16810 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
16811 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
16812 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
16813 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
16814 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
16815 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
16816 size spec per split.
16818 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
16819 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
16820 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
16821 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
16822 present) gets focus.
16824 Here's a more complicated example:
16827 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
16828 (summary 0.25 point)
16829 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
16833 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
16834 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
16835 occupy, not a percentage.
16837 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
16838 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
16839 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
16840 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
16841 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
16844 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
16847 (article (horizontal 1.0
16852 (summary 0.25 point)
16857 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
16858 @code{horizontal} thingie?
16860 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
16861 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
16862 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
16863 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
16864 the screen is to be given to this strip.
16866 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
16867 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
16868 lines from the splits.
16870 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
16874 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
16875 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
16876 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
16877 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
16878 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
16879 size = number | frame-params
16880 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
16883 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
16884 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
16885 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
16886 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
16888 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
16889 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
16890 @cindex window height
16891 @cindex window width
16892 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
16893 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
16894 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
16895 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
16896 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
16897 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
16899 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
16900 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
16901 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
16902 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
16904 @findex gnus-configure-frame
16905 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
16906 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
16907 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
16908 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
16909 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
16910 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
16911 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
16912 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
16913 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
16914 configuration list.
16917 (gnus-configure-frame
16921 (article 0.3 point))
16929 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
16930 @code{frame} split:
16933 (gnus-configure-frame
16936 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
16938 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
16939 (user-position . t)
16940 (left . -1) (top . 1))
16945 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
16946 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
16947 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
16948 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
16949 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
16950 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
16951 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
16952 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
16954 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
16955 be found in its default value.
16957 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
16958 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
16959 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
16963 (message (horizontal 1.0
16964 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
16966 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
16971 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
16972 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
16973 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
16976 (message (frame 1.0
16977 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
16978 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
16979 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
16980 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
16981 (name . "Message"))
16982 (message 1.0 point))))
16985 @findex gnus-add-configuration
16986 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
16987 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
16988 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
16989 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
16992 (gnus-add-configuration
16993 '(article (vertical 1.0
16995 (summary .25 point)
16999 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17000 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17001 Gnus has been loaded.
17003 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17004 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17005 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17006 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17007 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17009 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17010 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17011 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17015 @node Faces and Fonts
17016 @section Faces and Fonts
17021 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17022 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17023 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17028 @section Compilation
17029 @cindex compilation
17030 @cindex byte-compilation
17032 @findex gnus-compile
17034 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17035 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17036 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
17037 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
17038 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
17039 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17040 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17041 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17044 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17045 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17046 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17047 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
17048 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17051 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
17052 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
17053 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
17054 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
17055 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
17060 @section Mode Lines
17063 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17064 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17065 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17066 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17067 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17068 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17069 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17072 @cindex display-time
17074 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17075 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17076 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17077 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17078 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17079 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17080 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17081 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17084 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17086 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17087 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17089 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17090 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17091 (length display-time-string)))))
17094 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17095 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17096 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17097 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17098 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17101 @node Highlighting and Menus
17102 @section Highlighting and Menus
17104 @cindex highlighting
17107 @vindex gnus-visual
17108 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17109 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17110 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17113 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17114 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17117 @item group-highlight
17118 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17119 @item summary-highlight
17120 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17121 @item article-highlight
17122 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17124 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17126 Create menus in the group buffer.
17128 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17130 Create menus in the article buffer.
17132 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17134 Create menus in the server buffer.
17136 Create menus in the score buffers.
17138 Create menus in all buffers.
17141 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17142 buffers, you could say something like:
17145 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17148 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17151 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17154 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17155 in all Gnus buffers.
17157 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17160 @item gnus-mouse-face
17161 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17162 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17163 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17167 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17171 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17172 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17173 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17175 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17176 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17177 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17179 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17180 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17181 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17183 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17184 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17185 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17187 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17188 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17189 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17191 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17192 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17193 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17204 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17205 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17206 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17207 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17208 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17212 @vindex gnus-carpal
17213 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
17214 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17215 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17220 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17221 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17222 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17224 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17225 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17226 Face used on buttons.
17228 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17229 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17230 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17232 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17233 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17234 Buttons in the group buffer.
17236 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17237 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17238 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17240 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17241 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17242 Buttons in the server buffer.
17244 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17245 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17246 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17249 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17250 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17251 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17259 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17260 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17261 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17262 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17263 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17265 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17266 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17267 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17269 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17270 been idle for thirty minutes:
17273 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17276 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17280 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17283 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17284 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17285 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17287 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17288 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17289 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17290 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17292 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17293 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17294 @var{idle} minutes.
17296 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17297 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17300 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17301 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17302 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17304 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17305 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17306 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17307 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17309 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17310 your @file{.gnus} file:
17312 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17314 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17317 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17318 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17319 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17320 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17321 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17322 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17323 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17324 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17325 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17326 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17327 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17329 @findex gnus-demon-init
17330 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17331 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17332 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17333 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17334 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17336 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17337 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17338 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17347 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17348 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17350 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17351 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17352 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17353 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17356 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17357 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17358 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17359 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17361 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17362 this will make spam disappear.
17364 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17367 @item gnus-use-nocem
17368 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17369 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17372 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17373 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17374 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17375 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
17376 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
17378 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
17379 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
17380 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
17381 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
17382 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
17383 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
17384 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
17386 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
17389 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
17390 @cindex Chris Lewis
17391 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
17392 usenet abuse than anybody else.
17395 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
17396 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
17397 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
17399 @item jem@@xpat.com;
17401 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
17404 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
17405 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
17406 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
17409 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
17410 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
17411 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
17412 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
17413 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
17414 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
17415 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
17416 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
17417 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
17418 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
17420 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
17421 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
17424 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
17427 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
17428 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
17431 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
17434 The specs are applied left-to-right.
17437 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
17438 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
17440 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
17441 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
17442 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
17443 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
17445 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
17446 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
17449 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
17451 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
17459 This might be dangerous, though.
17461 @item gnus-nocem-directory
17462 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
17463 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
17464 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
17466 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17467 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17468 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
17469 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
17470 might then see old spam.
17474 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
17475 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
17476 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
17477 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
17484 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
17485 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
17486 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
17488 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
17489 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
17490 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
17491 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
17492 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
17493 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
17494 @code{undo} function.
17496 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
17497 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
17498 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
17499 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
17500 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
17501 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
17502 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
17503 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
17504 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
17505 never be totally undoable.
17507 @findex gnus-undo-mode
17508 @vindex gnus-use-undo
17510 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
17511 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
17512 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
17513 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
17518 @section Moderation
17521 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
17522 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
17523 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
17526 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
17530 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
17533 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17535 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
17540 You split your incoming mail by matching on
17541 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
17542 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
17545 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
17546 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
17549 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
17550 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
17554 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
17557 (setq gnus-moderated-list
17558 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
17562 @node XEmacs Enhancements
17563 @section XEmacs Enhancements
17566 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
17570 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
17571 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
17572 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
17573 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
17586 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
17587 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
17588 over your shoulder as you read news.
17591 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
17592 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
17593 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
17594 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
17595 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
17600 @subsubsection Picon Basics
17602 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
17611 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
17612 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
17613 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
17614 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
17615 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
17616 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
17617 @code{GIF} formats.
17620 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17621 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
17622 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
17623 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
17624 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
17626 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17627 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
17628 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
17629 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
17630 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
17631 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17634 @node Picon Requirements
17635 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
17637 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
17638 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
17641 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
17642 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
17643 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
17645 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17646 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
17647 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
17648 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
17649 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
17653 @subsubsection Easy Picons
17655 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
17656 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
17659 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
17660 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
17663 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
17664 containing the Picons databases.
17666 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
17669 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17670 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
17675 @subsubsection Hard Picons
17683 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
17684 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
17685 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
17686 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
17687 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
17692 @item gnus-picons-database
17693 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17694 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
17695 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
17696 subdirectories. This is only useful if
17697 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
17698 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
17700 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17701 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17702 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
17703 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
17704 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
17705 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
17706 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17708 @item gnus-picons-display-where
17709 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17710 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
17711 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
17712 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
17713 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
17714 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
17715 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
17717 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17718 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17719 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
17724 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
17725 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
17727 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
17728 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
17731 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17733 @item gnus-article-display-picons
17734 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17735 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
17736 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
17738 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
17739 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17740 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
17746 @node Picon Useless Configuration
17747 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
17755 The following variables offer further control over how things are
17756 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
17757 don't need to worry about.
17761 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
17762 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
17763 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
17764 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
17766 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
17767 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
17768 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
17769 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
17771 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
17772 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
17773 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
17774 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
17775 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
17777 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17778 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17779 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
17780 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
17781 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
17782 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
17783 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
17785 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
17786 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
17787 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
17788 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
17790 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
17791 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
17792 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
17793 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
17794 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
17795 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
17796 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
17798 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
17799 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
17800 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
17801 Defaults to @code{nil}.
17803 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
17804 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
17805 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
17806 Defaults to @code{t}.
17808 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
17809 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
17810 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
17811 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
17813 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
17814 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
17815 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
17817 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
17818 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
17819 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
17820 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
17822 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
17823 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
17825 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
17826 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
17827 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
17828 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
17829 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
17830 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
17831 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
17832 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
17843 @subsection Smileys
17848 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
17853 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
17854 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
17856 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
17857 @file{.gnus.el} file:
17860 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
17863 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
17864 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
17865 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
17866 text and maps that to file names.
17868 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
17869 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
17870 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
17871 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
17872 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
17873 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
17875 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
17876 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
17878 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
17879 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
17880 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
17882 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
17883 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
17887 @item smiley-data-directory
17888 @vindex smiley-data-directory
17889 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
17891 @item smiley-flesh-color
17892 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
17893 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
17895 @item smiley-features-color
17896 @vindex smiley-features-color
17897 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
17899 @item smiley-tongue-color
17900 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
17901 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
17903 @item smiley-circle-color
17904 @vindex smiley-circle-color
17905 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
17907 @item smiley-mouse-face
17908 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
17909 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
17915 @subsection Toolbar
17925 @item gnus-use-toolbar
17926 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
17927 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
17928 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
17929 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
17931 @item gnus-group-toolbar
17932 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
17933 The toolbar in the group buffer.
17935 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
17936 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
17937 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
17939 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
17940 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
17941 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
17947 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
17950 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
17951 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
17952 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
17953 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
17954 unusual directory structure.
17956 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
17957 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
17958 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
17959 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
17961 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
17962 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
17963 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
17964 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
17965 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
17966 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
17968 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
17969 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
17970 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
17984 @node Fuzzy Matching
17985 @section Fuzzy Matching
17986 @cindex fuzzy matching
17988 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
17989 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
17991 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
17992 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
17993 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
17995 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
17996 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
17997 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
17998 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
17999 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18002 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18003 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18007 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18009 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18010 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18011 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18012 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18013 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18014 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18015 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18016 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18019 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18020 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18021 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18022 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18023 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18024 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18028 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18029 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18031 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18032 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18033 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18034 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18035 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18036 part of the mail address.)
18039 (setq message-default-news-headers
18040 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18043 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18044 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18049 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18050 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18051 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18057 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18058 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18059 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18060 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18062 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18063 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18064 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18065 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18066 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18067 your fancy split rule in this way:
18072 (to "larsi" "misc")
18076 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18077 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18078 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18079 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18080 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18082 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18083 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18084 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
18085 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18086 cosmic balance somewhat.
18088 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18089 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18090 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18091 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18094 @node Various Various
18095 @section Various Various
18101 @item gnus-home-directory
18102 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18103 defaults to @file{~/}.
18105 @item gnus-directory
18106 @vindex gnus-directory
18107 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18108 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18109 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18111 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18112 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18113 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18114 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18116 @item gnus-default-directory
18117 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18118 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18119 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18120 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18121 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18122 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18123 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18126 @vindex gnus-verbose
18127 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18128 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18129 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18130 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18131 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18133 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18134 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18135 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18136 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18138 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18139 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18140 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18141 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18142 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18143 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18144 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18145 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18146 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18147 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18149 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18150 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18151 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18152 read when doing the operation described above.
18154 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18155 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18157 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18158 @cindex characters in file names
18159 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18160 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18161 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18164 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18168 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18169 Windows (phooey) systems.
18171 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18172 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18173 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18174 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18175 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18177 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18178 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18179 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18180 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18181 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18183 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18184 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18185 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18194 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18195 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18197 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18199 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18205 Not because of victories @*
18208 but for the common sunshine,@*
18210 the largess of the spring.
18214 but for the day's work done@*
18215 as well as I was able;@*
18216 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18217 but at the common table.@*
18222 @chapter Appendices
18225 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18226 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18227 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18228 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18229 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18230 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18231 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18232 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18240 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18241 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18243 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18244 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18245 @file{http://quimby.gnus.org/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
18246 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18247 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18249 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18250 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18251 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18252 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18253 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18254 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18256 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18257 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18258 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18259 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18262 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18263 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18264 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18265 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18266 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18267 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18268 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18269 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18270 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18271 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18275 @node Gnus Versions
18276 @subsection Gnus Versions
18277 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18279 @cindex September Gnus
18280 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18282 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18283 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18284 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18286 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18287 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18289 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18290 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18292 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18293 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18295 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18296 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18299 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18300 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
18301 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
18302 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
18303 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
18307 @node Other Gnus Versions
18308 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18311 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18312 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18313 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18314 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18316 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18317 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18318 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18319 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18326 What's the point of Gnus?
18328 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18329 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18330 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18331 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18332 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18333 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18334 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18335 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18336 keep track of millions of people who post?
18338 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18339 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18340 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18341 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18342 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18343 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18344 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18345 every one of you to explore and invent.
18347 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18348 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18351 @node Compatibility
18352 @subsection Compatibility
18354 @cindex compatibility
18355 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18356 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18357 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18362 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18366 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18369 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
18372 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
18373 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
18374 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
18375 important variables have their values copied into their global
18376 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
18377 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
18379 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
18380 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
18381 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
18382 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
18383 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
18387 @cindex highlighting
18388 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
18389 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
18390 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
18391 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
18392 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
18393 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
18396 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
18397 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
18398 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
18399 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
18401 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
18402 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
18403 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
18404 to stop doing it the old way.
18406 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
18408 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18410 @cindex reporting bugs
18412 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
18413 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
18414 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
18416 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
18417 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
18418 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
18419 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
18424 @subsection Conformity
18426 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
18427 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
18434 There are no known breaches of this standard.
18438 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
18440 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
18441 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
18442 We do have some breaches to this one.
18448 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
18449 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
18450 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
18451 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
18452 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
18457 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
18458 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
18459 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
18460 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
18464 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
18465 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
18470 @subsection Emacsen
18476 Gnus should work on :
18484 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
18488 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
18489 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
18492 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
18493 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
18494 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
18498 @node Gnus Development
18499 @subsection Gnus Development
18501 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
18502 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
18503 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
18504 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
18505 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
18506 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
18507 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
18508 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
18510 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
18511 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
18512 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
18513 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
18514 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
18517 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
18518 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
18519 In particular, @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
18520 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
18521 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
18523 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
18524 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
18525 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
18526 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
18527 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
18528 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
18529 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
18530 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
18531 usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
18532 can't be assumed to do so.
18537 @subsection Contributors
18538 @cindex contributors
18540 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
18541 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
18542 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
18543 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
18544 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
18545 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
18546 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
18547 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
18548 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
18549 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
18551 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
18557 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
18560 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
18561 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
18562 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
18563 functionality and stuff.
18566 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
18567 well as numerous other things).
18570 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
18573 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
18576 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
18579 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
18580 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
18583 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
18586 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
18587 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
18590 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
18593 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
18596 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
18599 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
18602 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
18603 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
18606 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
18609 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
18612 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
18615 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
18619 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
18622 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
18625 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
18628 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
18629 well as autoconf support.
18633 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
18634 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
18636 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
18645 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
18649 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
18659 Alexei V. Barantsev,
18674 Massimo Campostrini,
18679 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
18680 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
18684 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
18687 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
18693 Michael Welsh Duggan,
18698 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
18702 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
18710 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
18712 Michelangelo Grigni,
18716 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
18718 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
18720 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
18727 François Felix Ingrand,
18728 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
18729 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
18731 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
18742 Peter Skov Knudsen,
18743 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
18745 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
18746 Thor Kristoffersen,
18749 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
18767 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
18768 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
18775 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
18780 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
18784 John McClary Prevost,
18790 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
18795 Christian von Roques,
18798 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
18805 Philippe Schnoebelen,
18807 Randal L. Schwartz,
18821 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
18826 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
18842 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
18847 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
18848 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
18849 (550kB and counting).
18851 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
18854 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
18855 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
18859 @subsection New Features
18860 @cindex new features
18863 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
18864 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
18865 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
18866 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
18869 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
18870 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
18871 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
18875 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
18877 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
18882 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
18883 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
18886 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
18887 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
18890 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
18893 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
18894 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
18895 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
18898 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
18899 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
18900 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
18901 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
18904 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
18905 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
18908 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
18909 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
18910 (@pxref{The Active File}).
18913 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
18914 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
18917 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
18918 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
18919 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
18922 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
18923 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
18924 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
18927 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
18928 the @file{.emacs} file.
18931 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
18932 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18935 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
18936 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
18939 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
18940 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
18943 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
18944 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
18947 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
18948 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
18951 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
18954 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
18955 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
18958 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
18959 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
18962 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
18963 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
18966 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
18969 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
18970 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
18973 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
18977 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
18981 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
18982 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
18985 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
18991 @node September Gnus
18992 @subsubsection September Gnus
18996 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19000 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19005 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19006 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19010 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19011 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19015 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19019 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19020 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19023 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19027 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19030 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19033 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19036 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19040 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19041 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19044 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19048 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19052 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19056 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19060 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19063 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19064 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19067 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19071 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19072 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19075 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19078 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19079 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19080 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19083 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19087 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19090 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19094 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19095 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19098 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19099 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19102 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19103 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19106 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19107 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19108 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19111 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19112 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19115 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19118 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19121 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19124 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19127 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19128 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19131 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19135 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19138 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19143 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19146 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19150 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19153 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19157 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19160 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19163 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19164 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19167 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19168 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19172 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19173 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19176 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19180 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19181 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19184 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19187 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19191 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19195 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19196 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19199 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19203 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19204 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19207 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19208 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19211 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19215 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19218 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19221 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19227 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19229 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19233 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19240 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19243 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19244 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19247 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19248 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19252 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19253 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19256 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19259 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19260 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19263 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19267 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19268 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19272 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19273 Server Internals}).
19276 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19280 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19283 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19284 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19287 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19288 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19289 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19292 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19293 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19296 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19297 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19300 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19304 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19305 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19308 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19309 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19312 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19316 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19319 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19323 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19324 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19327 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19328 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19331 A new command for reading collections of documents
19332 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19333 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19336 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19340 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19341 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19344 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19345 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19346 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19349 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19350 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19354 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19358 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19362 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19367 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
19371 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
19375 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
19376 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
19379 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
19385 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
19387 New features in Gnus 5.6:
19392 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
19393 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
19394 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
19397 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
19398 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
19399 group, which is created automatically.
19402 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
19406 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
19409 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
19410 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
19413 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
19417 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
19420 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
19421 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
19424 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
19427 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
19428 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
19431 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
19432 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
19435 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
19436 control over simplification.
19439 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
19442 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
19446 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
19449 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
19452 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
19453 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
19454 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
19457 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
19458 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
19461 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
19465 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
19466 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
19469 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
19470 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
19473 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
19477 A history of where mails have been split is available.
19480 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
19483 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
19484 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
19487 A new function for citing in Message has been
19488 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
19491 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
19494 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
19498 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
19499 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
19502 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
19503 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
19506 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
19509 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
19514 @node Newest Features
19515 @subsection Newest Features
19518 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
19521 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
19523 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
19524 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
19527 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
19532 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
19533 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
19536 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
19539 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
19542 facep is not declared.
19545 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
19546 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
19549 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
19554 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
19555 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
19556 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
19557 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
19558 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
19559 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
19560 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
19565 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
19568 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
19571 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
19573 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
19574 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
19576 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
19578 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
19580 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
19581 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
19583 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
19585 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
19586 be marked as unread.
19588 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
19590 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
19592 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
19593 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
19595 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
19597 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
19599 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
19600 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
19602 topics that contain just groups with ticked
19603 articles aren't displayed.
19605 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
19607 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
19608 make the mail groups killed.
19610 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
19612 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
19613 and articles have to be removed.
19615 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
19618 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
19620 finding short score file names takes forever.
19622 canceling articles in foreign groups.
19624 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
19626 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
19628 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
19630 nnweb doesn't work properly.
19632 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
19634 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
19635 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
19639 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
19641 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
19642 bar and the Gnus bar.
19645 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
19646 `(canonize-message-id id)'
19647 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
19648 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
19649 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
19650 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
19655 nnml .overview directory with splits.
19659 postponed commands.
19661 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
19663 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
19666 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
19667 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
19669 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
19670 inherit copy prompts and save files.
19672 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
19674 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
19675 for backends that support that.
19677 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
19679 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
19680 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
19682 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
19683 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
19685 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
19687 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
19689 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
19691 server mode command: close/open all connections
19693 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
19694 has been changed before using it.
19696 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
19698 hide (sub)threads with low score.
19700 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
19702 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
19704 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
19705 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
19707 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
19708 contain groups that match a regexp.
19710 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
19713 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
19716 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
19717 from subject lines.
19719 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
19721 nntp-ping-before-connect
19723 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
19725 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
19726 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
19728 message annotations.
19730 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
19732 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
19733 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
19735 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
19740 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
19742 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
19744 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
19746 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
19747 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
19749 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
19751 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
19753 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
19754 finds and generate proper active ranges.
19756 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
19757 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
19759 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
19761 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
19763 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
19764 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
19766 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
19768 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
19770 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
19771 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
19774 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
19776 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
19778 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
19779 `C-c C-c' when posting.
19781 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
19784 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
19785 should be marker as expirable.
19787 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
19789 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
19790 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
19792 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
19793 Also consult Date headers.
19795 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
19797 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
19799 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
19800 Message-ID, delete the "original".
19802 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
19803 into a See-Also header.
19805 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
19807 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
19809 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
19810 should be listed as such and not as "K".
19812 generate font names dynamically.
19814 score file mode auto-alist.
19816 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
19817 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
19819 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
19820 absolutely all headers there is.
19822 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
19823 and pipe them to the process.
19825 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
19826 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
19827 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
19829 function for starting to edit a file to put into
19830 the current mail group.
19832 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
19834 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
19835 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
19837 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
19838 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
19840 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
19842 when replying to several process-marked articles,
19843 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
19845 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
19846 groups it has been mailed to.
19848 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
19850 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
19852 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
19854 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
19855 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
19857 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
19858 newlines) should be ignored.
19860 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
19861 groups in subtopics as well.
19863 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
19865 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
19868 add edit and forward secondary marks.
19870 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
19872 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
19874 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
19876 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
19878 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
19880 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
19881 or the formatted article.
19883 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
19885 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
19886 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
19888 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
19890 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
19892 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
19894 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
19895 even unread articles.
19897 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
19899 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
19901 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
19903 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
19905 canceling articles in foreign groups.
19907 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
19910 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
19911 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
19913 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
19914 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
19916 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
19918 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
19920 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
19921 from a particular server? Hm.
19923 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
19924 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
19926 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
19928 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
19929 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
19931 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
19932 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
19934 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
19935 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
19936 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
19939 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
19940 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
19942 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
19944 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
19946 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
19948 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
19951 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
19954 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
19955 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
19957 command to show and edit group scores
19959 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
19962 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
19964 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
19966 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
19967 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
19970 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
19971 that are of that length.
19973 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
19975 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
19977 asynchronous posting under nntp.
19979 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
19981 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
19983 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
19985 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
19986 a score lower than this number.
19988 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
19990 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
19992 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
19993 so that each copy can be edited separately.
19995 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
19997 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
19998 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20000 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20003 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20004 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20005 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20006 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20008 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20011 command to remove all topic stuff.
20013 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20014 and splitting the resulting digests.
20016 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20018 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20020 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20021 matches an alist -- before saving.
20023 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20025 variable to activate each group before entering them
20026 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20028 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20029 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20031 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20032 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20034 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20036 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20037 of several groups at once.
20039 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20040 matches some regexp(s).
20042 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20044 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20046 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20048 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20050 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20052 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20054 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20056 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20057 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20058 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20059 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20061 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20062 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20064 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20066 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20067 recently cited text.
20069 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20071 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20074 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20075 server and just read the articles in the server
20077 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20078 value of nnoo variables.
20080 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20082 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20083 listed in each group info.
20085 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20088 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20089 should only be applied to some groups.
20091 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20092 mail-copies-to: never.
20094 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20095 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20097 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20099 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20102 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20105 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20107 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20110 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20114 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20116 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20117 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20118 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20119 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20120 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20122 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20123 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
20130 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20131 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20133 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20134 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20136 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20137 "Return the date the group was last read."
20138 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20143 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20144 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20145 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20146 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20150 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20151 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20153 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20156 They could be used like this:
20160 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20161 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20162 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20164 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20166 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20169 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20172 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20173 affect the summary line format.
20177 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20179 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20180 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20182 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20185 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20187 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20189 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20191 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20193 - For other files, just find them normally.
20195 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20196 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20199 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20200 tell him what you are doing.
20203 Currently, I get prompted:
20207 decend into sci.something ?
20211 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20212 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20213 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20214 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20217 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20218 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20219 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20220 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20223 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20224 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20230 more than n blank lines
20232 more than m identical lines
20233 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20235 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20239 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20240 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20241 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20242 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20245 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20246 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20247 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20248 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20251 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20254 soup - bowl of soup
20255 score below - dim light bulb
20256 score over - bright light bulb
20259 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20264 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20265 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20266 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20267 if (articles-selected)
20268 start-reading-selected-articles;
20269 junk-unread-articles;
20274 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20275 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20276 select-thread-under-cursor;
20278 select-article-under-cursor;
20282 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20283 if (more-pages-in-article)
20285 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20292 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20293 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20294 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20297 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20298 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20299 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20300 the wildcard expression).
20303 It would be nice if it also handled
20305 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20307 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20312 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20313 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20314 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20315 article versions) variable.
20317 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20319 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20320 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20324 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20327 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20328 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20329 (message-sent-hook).
20331 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20334 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20338 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20339 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20342 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20343 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20344 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20347 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20348 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20352 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20355 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20359 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20360 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20363 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20364 value of the signature file.
20367 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20368 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
20371 (setq message-tab-alist
20372 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
20373 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
20375 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
20379 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
20382 a command to import a buffer into a group.
20385 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
20388 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
20389 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
20392 a command to process mark all unread articles.
20395 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
20396 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
20397 do more gathering by subject.
20400 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
20401 article numerical order.
20404 (gnus-thread-total-score
20405 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
20409 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
20412 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
20413 in the summary buffer.
20416 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
20417 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
20420 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
20421 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
20422 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
20423 and/or newsgroup name.
20426 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
20429 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
20432 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
20435 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
20436 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
20437 will automatically get the process mark.
20440 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
20441 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
20442 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
20445 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
20449 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
20450 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
20453 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
20454 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
20458 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
20459 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
20462 be able to post via DejaNews.
20465 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
20468 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
20469 allow them to be displayed separately.
20472 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
20473 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
20476 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
20477 articles that match a certain From header.
20480 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
20481 saving living summary buffers.
20484 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
20485 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
20488 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
20489 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
20492 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
20493 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
20496 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
20497 (goto-char (point-min))
20498 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
20499 (replace-match "`" t t))
20500 (goto-char (point-min))
20501 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
20502 (replace-match "'" t t))
20503 (goto-char (point-min))
20504 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
20505 (replace-match "\"" t t))
20506 (goto-char (point-min))
20507 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
20508 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
20513 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
20515 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
20516 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
20517 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
20518 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
20522 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
20525 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
20526 numbers and match on the age of the article.
20530 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
20531 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
20532 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
20534 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
20535 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
20537 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
20538 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
20543 all commands that react to the process mark should push
20544 the current process mark set onto the stack.
20547 gnus-article-hide-pgp
20548 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
20550 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
20552 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
20553 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
20556 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
20557 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
20560 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
20564 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
20565 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
20568 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
20571 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
20574 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
20577 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
20581 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
20587 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
20590 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
20594 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
20595 X characters in the body.
20598 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
20601 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
20604 format spec to "tab" to a position.
20607 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
20610 command to display all dormant articles.
20613 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
20616 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
20617 to something someone else has said.
20620 Read Netscape discussion groups:
20621 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
20624 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
20625 the displayed version.
20628 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
20632 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
20635 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
20636 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
20637 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
20641 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
20642 in the head or body.
20645 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
20648 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
20651 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
20652 in a special, unique buffer.
20655 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
20658 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
20659 is less than a certain number of days old.
20662 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
20665 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
20668 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
20669 file, for instance.
20672 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
20673 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
20674 dummy root instead of the first article.
20677 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
20678 topics for displaying.
20681 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
20682 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
20685 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
20688 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
20689 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
20690 summary buffer for each article.
20693 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
20696 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
20700 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
20703 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
20707 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
20710 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
20713 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
20714 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
20717 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
20718 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
20721 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
20722 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
20725 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
20726 timeout for all commands.
20729 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
20730 It should go somewhere else.
20733 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
20734 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
20735 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
20737 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
20738 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
20740 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
20741 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
20748 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
20749 --text follows this line--
20750 Sorry I killfiled you...
20752 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
20754 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
20759 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
20763 - Edit article's summary line.
20765 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
20767 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
20773 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
20777 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
20778 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
20782 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
20785 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
20788 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
20789 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
20790 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
20791 turn into a [-] button.)
20794 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
20795 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
20796 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
20797 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
20800 Handle external-body parts.
20803 Solve the halting problem.
20812 @section The Manual
20816 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
20817 either @code{texi2dvi}
20819 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
20820 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
20822 to get what you hold in your hands now.
20824 The following conventions have been used:
20829 This is a @samp{string}
20832 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
20835 This is a @file{file}
20838 This is a @code{symbol}
20842 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
20846 (setq flargnoze "yes")
20849 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
20852 (setq flumphel 'yes)
20855 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
20856 ever get them confused.
20860 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
20861 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
20862 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
20863 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
20864 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
20865 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
20866 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
20872 @node On Writing Manuals
20873 @section On Writing Manuals
20875 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
20876 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
20877 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
20878 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
20879 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
20880 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
20883 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
20884 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
20885 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
20888 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
20889 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
20894 @section Terminology
20896 @cindex terminology
20901 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
20902 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
20903 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
20904 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
20905 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
20909 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
20910 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
20911 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
20912 not posting, and replying is not following up.
20916 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
20920 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
20925 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
20926 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
20927 is all done by the backends.
20931 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
20932 default, way of getting news.
20936 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
20937 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
20942 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
20943 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
20947 A message that has been posted as news.
20950 @cindex mail message
20951 A message that has been mailed.
20955 A mail message or news article
20959 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
20964 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
20969 A line from the head of an article.
20973 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
20974 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
20978 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
20979 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
20980 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
20981 normal @sc{head} format.
20985 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
20986 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
20987 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
20988 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
20989 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
20990 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
20992 @item killed groups
20993 @cindex killed groups
20994 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
20995 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
20997 @item zombie groups
20998 @cindex zombie groups
20999 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21002 @cindex active file
21003 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21004 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21005 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21008 @cindex bogus groups
21009 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21010 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21011 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21014 @cindex activating groups
21015 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21016 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21017 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21021 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21023 @item select method
21024 @cindex select method
21025 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21028 @item virtual server
21029 @cindex virtual server
21030 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21031 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21032 whole is a virtual server.
21036 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21037 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21040 @item ephemeral groups
21041 @cindex ephemeral groups
21042 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21043 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21044 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21047 @cindex solid groups
21048 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21049 group buffer are solid groups.
21051 @item sparse articles
21052 @cindex sparse articles
21053 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21054 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21058 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21059 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21063 @cindex thread root
21064 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21065 articles in the thread.
21069 An article that has responses.
21073 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21077 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21078 specified by RFC 1153.
21084 @node Customization
21085 @section Customization
21086 @cindex general customization
21088 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21089 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21090 for some quite common situations.
21093 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21094 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21095 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21096 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21100 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21101 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21103 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21104 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21105 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21109 @item gnus-read-active-file
21110 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21111 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21112 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21113 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21114 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21116 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21117 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21118 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21119 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21123 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21124 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21126 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21127 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21128 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21132 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21133 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21134 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21135 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21136 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21138 @item gnus-visible-headers
21139 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21140 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21141 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21142 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21144 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21146 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21147 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21148 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21151 @item gnus-use-full-window
21152 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21153 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21154 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21155 want to read them anyway.
21157 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21158 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21161 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21162 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21163 lines, which might save some time.
21167 @node Little Disk Space
21168 @subsection Little Disk Space
21171 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21172 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21176 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21177 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21178 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21179 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21182 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21183 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21184 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21185 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21188 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21189 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21190 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21191 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21192 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21198 @subsection Slow Machine
21199 @cindex slow machine
21201 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21202 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21204 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21205 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21207 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21208 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21209 summary buffer faster.
21213 @node Troubleshooting
21214 @section Troubleshooting
21215 @cindex troubleshooting
21217 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21225 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21228 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21229 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21233 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21234 like @samp{T-gnus 6.14.* (based on Pterodactyl Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*,
21235 FLIM 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you
21236 get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some
21237 old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21240 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21244 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21245 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21246 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21247 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21248 something like that.
21251 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21254 @cindex reporting bugs
21256 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21258 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21259 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21260 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21261 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21263 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21264 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21265 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21266 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21269 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21270 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21271 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21272 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21273 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21274 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21276 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21277 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21278 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21281 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21282 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21284 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21285 @cindex ding mailing list
21286 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21287 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21291 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21292 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21294 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21295 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21296 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21297 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21300 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21301 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21302 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21303 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21304 and general methods of operation.
21307 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21308 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21309 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21310 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21311 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21312 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21313 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21314 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21315 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21319 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21320 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21321 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21322 @cindex utility functions
21324 @cindex internal variables
21326 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21327 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21328 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21332 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21333 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21334 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21336 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21337 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21338 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21340 @item gnus-group-real-name
21341 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21342 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21345 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21346 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21347 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21348 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21350 @item gnus-get-info
21351 @findex gnus-get-info
21352 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21354 @item gnus-group-unread
21355 @findex gnus-group-unread
21356 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21360 @findex gnus-active
21361 The active entry for @var{group}.
21363 @item gnus-set-active
21364 @findex gnus-set-active
21365 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21367 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21368 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21369 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21372 @item gnus-continuum-version
21373 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21374 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21375 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21378 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21379 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21380 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21382 @item gnus-news-group-p
21383 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21384 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
21386 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21387 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21388 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21390 @item gnus-server-to-method
21391 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21392 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21394 @item gnus-server-equal
21395 @findex gnus-server-equal
21396 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21398 @item gnus-group-native-p
21399 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21400 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21402 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21403 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21404 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21406 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21407 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21408 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21410 @item group-group-find-parameter
21411 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21412 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21413 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21415 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21416 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21417 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21419 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21420 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21421 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21423 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21424 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21425 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
21426 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21429 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21433 @item gnus-read-method
21434 @findex gnus-read-method
21435 Prompts the user for a select method.
21440 @node Backend Interface
21441 @subsection Backend Interface
21443 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21444 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21445 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21446 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21447 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21448 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21450 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21451 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21452 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21453 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21454 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21455 been opened, the function should fail.
21457 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21458 name. Take this example:
21462 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21463 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21466 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21467 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21469 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21470 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21471 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21473 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21474 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21475 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21477 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21478 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21479 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21480 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21481 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21482 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21485 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21486 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21487 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21488 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21491 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21494 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21497 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21498 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21499 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21500 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21501 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21502 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
21506 @node Required Backend Functions
21507 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
21511 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21513 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21514 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
21515 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
21516 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21518 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21519 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21520 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21521 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21523 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21524 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21525 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21526 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21527 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
21528 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21529 number, do maximum fetches.
21531 Here's an example HEAD:
21534 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21535 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21536 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21537 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21538 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21539 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21540 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21542 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21543 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21544 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21548 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21549 these in the data buffer.
21551 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21555 head = error / valid-head
21556 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21557 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21558 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21559 header = <text> eol
21562 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21563 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21567 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21568 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21569 field = <text except TAB>
21572 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21576 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21578 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21579 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21581 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
21582 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21583 server. In fact, it should do so.
21585 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21586 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21589 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21591 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21592 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21595 There should be no data returned.
21598 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21600 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
21601 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
21602 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21603 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21605 There should be no data returned.
21608 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21610 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21611 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21612 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21613 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21615 There should be no data returned.
21618 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
21620 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
21622 There should be no data returned.
21625 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
21627 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
21628 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
21629 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
21630 it would be nice if that were possible.
21632 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
21633 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
21634 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
21635 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
21636 into its article buffer.
21638 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
21639 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
21640 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
21641 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
21642 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
21643 on successful article retrieval.
21646 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
21648 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
21649 making @var{group} the current group.
21651 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
21654 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
21657 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
21660 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
21661 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
21662 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
21663 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
21664 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
21665 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
21666 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
21667 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
21670 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
21671 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
21672 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
21676 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21678 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
21679 a no-op on most backends.
21681 There should be no data returned.
21684 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
21686 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
21689 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
21692 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
21693 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
21696 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
21697 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
21700 active-file = *active-line
21701 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
21703 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
21706 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
21707 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
21708 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
21711 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
21713 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
21714 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
21715 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
21716 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
21717 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
21718 clear if the posting could not be completed.
21720 There should be no result data from this function.
21725 @node Optional Backend Functions
21726 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
21730 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
21732 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
21733 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
21734 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
21736 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
21737 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
21738 former is in the same format as the data from
21739 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
21740 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
21743 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
21747 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
21749 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
21750 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
21751 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
21752 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
21753 should return the (altered) group info.
21755 There should be no result data from this function.
21758 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
21760 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
21761 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
21762 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
21763 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
21764 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
21765 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
21766 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
21767 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
21769 There should be no result data from this function.
21772 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
21774 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
21775 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
21776 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
21777 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
21778 propagate the mark information to the server.
21780 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
21783 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
21786 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
21787 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
21788 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
21789 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
21790 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
21791 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
21792 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
21793 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
21794 not limit itself to these.
21796 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
21797 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
21798 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
21799 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
21801 An example action list:
21804 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
21805 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
21806 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
21809 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
21810 mark on (currently not used for anything).
21812 There should be no result data from this function.
21814 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
21816 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
21817 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
21818 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
21819 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
21820 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
21822 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
21823 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
21824 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
21827 There should be no result data from this function.
21830 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
21832 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
21833 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
21834 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
21835 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
21836 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
21837 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
21838 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
21840 There should be no result data from this function.
21843 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
21845 The result data from this function should be a description of
21849 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
21851 description = <text>
21854 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
21856 The result data from this function should be the description of all
21857 groups available on the server.
21860 description-buffer = *description-line
21864 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
21866 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
21867 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
21868 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
21871 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21873 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
21875 There should be no return data.
21878 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
21880 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
21881 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
21882 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
21883 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
21884 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
21887 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
21890 There should be no result data returned.
21893 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
21896 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
21897 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
21899 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
21900 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
21901 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
21902 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
21903 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
21904 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
21906 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
21907 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
21910 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
21911 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
21913 There should be no data returned.
21916 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
21918 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
21919 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
21920 this function in short order.
21922 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
21923 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
21925 There should be no data returned.
21928 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
21930 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
21931 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
21933 There should be no data returned.
21936 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
21938 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
21939 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
21940 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
21942 There should be no data returned.
21945 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
21947 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
21948 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
21950 There should be no data returned.
21955 @node Error Messaging
21956 @subsubsection Error Messaging
21958 @findex nnheader-report
21959 @findex nnheader-get-report
21960 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
21961 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
21962 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
21963 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
21964 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
21965 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
21968 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
21970 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
21973 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
21974 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
21975 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
21976 takes one argument---the server symbol.
21978 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
21979 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
21980 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
21983 @node Writing New Backends
21984 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
21986 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
21987 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
21988 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
21989 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
21990 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
21993 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
21994 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
21995 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
21997 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
21998 package called @code{nnoo}.
22000 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22001 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22007 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22008 parameters. For instance:
22011 (nnoo-declare nndir
22015 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22016 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22019 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22020 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22021 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22023 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22024 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22025 a function in those backends.
22028 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22029 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22030 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22033 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22034 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22035 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22037 @item nnoo-define-basics
22038 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22042 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22046 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22047 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22048 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22050 @item nnoo-map-functions
22051 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22052 functions from the parent backends.
22055 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22056 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22057 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22060 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22061 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22062 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22063 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22066 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22067 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22068 haven't already been defined.
22074 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22078 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22079 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22080 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22085 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22088 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22089 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22093 (require 'nnheader)
22097 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22099 (nnoo-declare nndir
22102 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22103 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22104 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22106 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22107 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22110 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22111 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22112 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22114 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22115 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22117 ;;; Interface functions.
22119 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22121 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22122 (setq nndir-directory
22123 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22125 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22126 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22127 (push `(nndir-current-group
22128 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22130 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22131 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22133 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22135 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22136 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22137 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22138 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22139 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22143 nnmh-status-message
22145 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22151 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22152 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22154 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22155 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22156 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22157 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22159 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22160 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22165 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22168 The abilities can be:
22172 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22174 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22176 This backend supports both mail and news.
22178 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22181 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22182 articles and groups.
22184 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22185 true for almost all backends.
22186 @item prompt-address
22187 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22188 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22189 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22193 @node Mail-like Backends
22194 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22196 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22197 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22198 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22199 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22202 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22203 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22204 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22207 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22208 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22211 This function takes four parameters.
22215 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22218 @item exit-function
22219 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22221 @item temp-directory
22222 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22225 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22226 performed for one group only.
22229 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22230 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22231 find the article number assigned to this article.
22233 The function also uses the following variables:
22234 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22235 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22236 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22237 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22241 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22242 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22246 @node Score File Syntax
22247 @subsection Score File Syntax
22249 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22250 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22251 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22253 Here's a typical score file:
22257 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22264 BNF definition of a score file:
22267 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22268 element = rule / atom
22269 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22270 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22271 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22272 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22274 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22275 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22276 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22277 date-header = "date"
22278 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22279 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22280 score = "nil" / <integer>
22281 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22282 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22283 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22284 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22285 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22286 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22287 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22288 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22289 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22290 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22291 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22292 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22293 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22294 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22295 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22296 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22297 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22298 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22299 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22300 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22301 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22302 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22303 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22304 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22305 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22306 eval = "eval" space <form>
22307 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22310 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22313 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22314 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22315 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22316 one looong line, then that's ok.
22318 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22319 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22323 @subsection Headers
22325 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22326 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22327 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22328 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22330 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22331 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22332 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22333 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22334 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22335 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22336 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22338 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22339 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22340 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22341 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22342 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22344 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22345 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22351 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22352 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22354 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22355 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22356 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22357 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22359 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22363 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22366 is transformed into
22369 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22372 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22373 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22376 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22379 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22380 is slightly tricky:
22383 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22389 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22392 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22398 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22405 and is equal to the previous range.
22407 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22408 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22409 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22413 range = simple-range / normal-range
22414 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22415 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22416 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22417 number *[ " " contents ]
22420 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22421 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22422 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22423 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22424 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22429 @subsection Group Info
22431 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22432 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22433 describes the group.
22435 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22436 second is a more complex one:
22439 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22441 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22442 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22444 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22447 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22448 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22449 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22450 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22451 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22452 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22453 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22454 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22455 this section is about.
22457 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22458 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22459 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22461 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22464 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22465 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22466 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22467 group = quote <string> quote
22468 ralevel = rank / level
22469 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22470 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22471 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22473 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22474 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22475 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22476 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22479 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22480 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22483 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22484 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22487 @item gnus-info-group
22488 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22489 @findex gnus-info-group
22490 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22491 Get/set the group name.
22493 @item gnus-info-rank
22494 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22495 @findex gnus-info-rank
22496 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22497 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22499 @item gnus-info-level
22500 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22501 @findex gnus-info-level
22502 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22503 Get/set the group level.
22505 @item gnus-info-score
22506 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22507 @findex gnus-info-score
22508 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22509 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22511 @item gnus-info-read
22512 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22513 @findex gnus-info-read
22514 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22515 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22517 @item gnus-info-marks
22518 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22519 @findex gnus-info-marks
22520 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22521 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22523 @item gnus-info-method
22524 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22525 @findex gnus-info-method
22526 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22527 Get/set the group select method.
22529 @item gnus-info-params
22530 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22531 @findex gnus-info-params
22532 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22533 Get/set the group parameters.
22536 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22537 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22539 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22540 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22541 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22542 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22545 @node Extended Interactive
22546 @subsection Extended Interactive
22547 @cindex interactive
22548 @findex gnus-interactive
22550 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22551 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22552 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22555 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22556 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22561 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22562 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22563 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22564 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22565 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22566 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22567 @code{interactive}.
22569 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22574 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22575 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22579 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22580 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22581 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22584 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22588 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22592 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22598 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22599 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
22603 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
22604 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
22605 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
22607 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
22608 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
22609 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
22610 Gnus, that's very useful.
22612 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
22613 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
22614 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
22615 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
22616 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
22617 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
22618 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
22619 following function:
22622 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
22626 (,function ,@@args))
22630 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
22631 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
22632 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
22635 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
22636 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
22637 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
22639 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
22640 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
22641 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
22644 @node Various File Formats
22645 @subsection Various File Formats
22648 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
22649 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
22653 @node Active File Format
22654 @subsubsection Active File Format
22656 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
22657 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
22660 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
22663 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
22664 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
22665 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
22666 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
22667 no.general 1000 900 y
22670 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
22673 active = *group-line
22674 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
22675 group = <non-white-space string>
22677 high-number = <non-negative integer>
22678 low-number = <positive integer>
22679 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
22682 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
22683 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
22686 @node Newsgroups File Format
22687 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
22689 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
22690 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
22691 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
22694 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
22695 Here's the definition:
22699 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
22700 group = <non-white-space string>
22702 description = <string>
22707 @node Emacs for Heathens
22708 @section Emacs for Heathens
22710 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
22711 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
22712 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
22713 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
22714 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
22715 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
22716 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
22720 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
22721 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
22726 @subsection Keystrokes
22730 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
22733 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
22736 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
22737 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
22738 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
22739 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
22740 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
22741 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
22743 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
22744 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
22745 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
22746 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
22747 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
22748 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
22749 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
22751 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
22752 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
22753 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
22754 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
22755 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
22756 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
22757 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
22759 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
22760 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
22761 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
22762 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
22763 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
22769 @subsection Emacs Lisp
22771 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
22772 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
22773 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
22774 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
22776 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
22777 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
22778 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
22779 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
22780 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
22781 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
22782 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
22785 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
22786 write the following:
22789 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
22792 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
22793 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
22794 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
22797 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
22798 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
22799 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
22800 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
22801 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
22803 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
22804 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
22805 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
22809 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
22813 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
22816 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
22817 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
22820 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
22823 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
22824 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
22827 @include gnus-faq.texi