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4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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270 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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279 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
280 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
283 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
284 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
285 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
286 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
287 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
288 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
289 License'' in the Emacs manual.
291 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
292 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
293 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
295 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
296 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
297 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
298 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
306 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
308 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
309 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
311 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
312 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
313 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
314 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
315 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
316 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
317 License'' in the Emacs manual.
319 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
320 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
321 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
323 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
324 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
325 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
326 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
332 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
334 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
337 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
338 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
339 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
341 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
342 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
343 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
344 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
345 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
346 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
347 License'' in the Emacs manual.
349 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
350 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
351 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
353 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
354 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
355 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
356 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
365 @top The gnus Newsreader
369 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
370 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
371 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
374 T-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So T-gnus supports
375 your right to read strange messages including big images or other
376 various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
377 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
378 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
379 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
381 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
392 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
393 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
395 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
396 being accused of plagiarism:
398 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
399 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
400 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
401 can even read news with it!
403 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
404 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
405 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
406 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
407 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
413 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
414 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
415 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
416 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
417 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
418 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
419 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
420 * Various:: General purpose settings.
421 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
422 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
423 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
424 * Key Index:: Key Index.
427 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
431 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
432 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
433 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
434 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
435 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
436 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
437 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
438 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
439 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
440 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
441 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
445 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
446 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
447 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
451 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
452 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
453 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
454 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
455 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
456 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
457 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
458 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
459 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
460 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
461 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
462 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
463 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
464 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
465 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
466 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
467 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
471 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
472 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
473 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
477 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
478 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
479 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
480 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
481 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
485 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
486 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
487 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
488 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
492 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
493 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
494 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
495 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
496 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
498 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
499 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
500 * Threading:: How threads are made.
501 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
502 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
503 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
504 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
505 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
506 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
507 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
508 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
509 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
510 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
511 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
512 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
513 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
514 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
515 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
516 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
517 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
518 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
519 or reselecting the current group.
520 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
521 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
522 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
523 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
525 Summary Buffer Format
527 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
528 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
529 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
530 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
534 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
535 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
537 Reply, Followup and Post
539 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
540 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
541 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
542 * Canceling and Superseding::
546 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
547 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
548 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
550 * Generic Marking Commands::
551 * Setting Process Marks::
555 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
556 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
557 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
561 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
562 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
564 Customizing Threading
566 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
567 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
568 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
569 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
573 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
574 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
575 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
576 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
577 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
578 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
582 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
583 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
584 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
588 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
589 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
590 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
591 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
592 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
593 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
594 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
595 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
597 Alternative Approaches
599 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
600 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
602 Various Summary Stuff
604 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
605 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
606 * Summary Generation Commands::
607 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
611 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
612 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
613 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
614 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
615 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
619 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
620 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
621 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
622 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
623 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
624 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
625 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
626 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
630 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
631 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
632 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
633 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
634 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
635 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
636 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
637 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
641 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
642 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
643 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
644 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
645 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
646 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
647 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
651 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
652 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
656 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
657 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
658 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
662 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
663 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
664 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
665 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
666 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
667 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
668 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
669 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
670 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
671 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
672 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
673 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
674 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
675 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
679 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
680 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
681 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
683 Choosing a Mail Back End
685 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
686 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
687 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
688 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
689 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
690 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
694 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
695 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
696 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
697 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
698 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
699 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
703 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
704 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
705 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
709 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
710 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
711 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
712 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
713 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
717 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
721 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
722 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
723 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
727 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
728 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
732 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
733 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
734 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
735 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
736 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
737 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
738 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
739 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
740 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
741 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
745 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
746 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
747 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
751 * Group Agent Commands::
752 * Summary Agent Commands::
753 * Server Agent Commands::
757 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
758 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
759 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
760 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
761 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
762 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
763 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
764 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
765 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
766 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
767 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
768 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
769 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
770 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
771 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
772 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
773 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
777 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
778 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
779 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
780 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
784 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
785 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
786 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
790 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
791 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
792 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
793 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
794 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
795 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
796 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
797 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
798 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
799 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
800 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
801 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
802 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
803 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
804 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
805 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
806 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
807 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
811 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
812 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
813 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
814 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
815 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
816 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
817 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
818 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
822 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
823 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
824 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
825 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
829 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
830 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
831 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
832 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
833 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
837 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
838 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
839 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
840 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
841 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
842 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
843 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
847 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
848 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
849 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
850 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
851 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
852 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
853 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
854 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
855 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
859 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
860 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
861 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
862 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
863 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
867 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
868 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
869 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
870 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
874 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
875 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
876 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
877 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
878 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
879 * Group Info:: The group info format.
880 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
881 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
882 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
886 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
887 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
888 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
889 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
890 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
891 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
895 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
896 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
900 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
901 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
907 @chapter Starting gnus
912 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
913 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
916 @findex gnus-other-frame
917 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
918 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
919 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
921 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
922 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
923 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
925 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
926 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
929 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
930 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
931 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
932 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
933 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
934 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
935 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
936 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
937 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
938 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
939 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
943 @node Finding the News
944 @section Finding the News
947 @vindex gnus-select-method
949 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
950 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
951 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
952 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
955 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
956 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
959 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
962 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
965 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
968 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
969 certainly be much faster.
971 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
973 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
974 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
975 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
976 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
977 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
978 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
980 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
981 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
982 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
983 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
985 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
986 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
987 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
988 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
989 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
990 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
991 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
992 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
993 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
996 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
998 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
999 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1000 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1001 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1002 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1003 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1005 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1007 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1008 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1009 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1010 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1011 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1012 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1015 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1016 you would typically set this variable to
1019 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1023 @node The First Time
1024 @section The First Time
1025 @cindex first time usage
1027 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1028 be subscribed by default.
1030 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1031 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1032 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1033 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1036 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1037 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1038 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1040 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1041 help you with most common problems.
1043 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1044 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1048 @node The Server is Down
1049 @section The Server is Down
1050 @cindex server errors
1052 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1053 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1054 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1056 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1057 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1058 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1059 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1060 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1061 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1062 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1064 @findex gnus-no-server
1065 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1067 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1068 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1069 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1070 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1071 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1072 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1073 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1077 @section Slave Gnusae
1080 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1081 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1082 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1083 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1085 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1086 @code{.newsrc} file.
1088 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1089 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1090 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1091 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1092 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1093 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1094 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1096 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1097 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1098 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1099 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1100 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1101 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1102 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1103 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1105 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1106 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1109 @node Fetching a Group
1110 @section Fetching a Group
1111 @cindex fetching a group
1113 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1114 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1115 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1116 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1117 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1118 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1124 @cindex subscription
1126 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1127 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1128 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1129 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1130 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1131 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1132 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1133 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1134 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1137 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1138 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1139 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1143 @node Checking New Groups
1144 @subsection Checking New Groups
1146 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1147 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1148 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1149 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1150 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1151 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1152 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1153 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1154 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1155 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1157 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1158 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1159 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1160 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1161 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1162 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1163 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1164 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1165 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1166 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1167 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1169 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1170 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1171 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1172 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1173 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1174 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1177 @node Subscription Methods
1178 @subsection Subscription Methods
1180 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1181 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1182 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1184 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1185 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1187 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1191 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1192 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1193 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1194 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1195 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1197 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1198 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1199 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1200 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1202 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1203 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1204 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1206 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1207 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1208 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1209 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1210 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1211 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1212 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1213 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1214 up. Or something like that.
1216 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1217 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1218 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1219 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1220 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1222 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1224 Kill all new groups.
1226 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1227 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1228 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1229 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1230 topic parameter that looks like
1236 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1239 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1245 A closely related variable is
1246 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1247 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1248 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1249 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1252 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1253 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1254 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1255 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1258 @node Filtering New Groups
1259 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1261 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1262 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1263 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1266 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1269 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1270 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1271 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1272 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1273 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1274 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1275 subscribing these groups.
1276 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1277 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1279 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1280 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1281 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1282 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1283 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1284 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1285 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1286 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1288 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1289 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1290 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1291 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1292 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1293 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1294 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1295 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1296 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1297 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1299 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1300 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1303 @node Changing Servers
1304 @section Changing Servers
1305 @cindex changing servers
1307 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1308 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1309 very flaky and you want to use another.
1311 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1312 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1316 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1317 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1318 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1319 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1322 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1323 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1324 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1325 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1327 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1328 @findex gnus-change-server
1329 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1330 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1331 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1332 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1333 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1335 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1336 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1337 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1338 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1339 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1341 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1342 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1343 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1344 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1345 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1346 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1348 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1349 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1350 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1354 @section Startup Files
1355 @cindex startup files
1360 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1361 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1363 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1364 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1365 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1366 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1367 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1368 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1369 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1371 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1372 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1373 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1374 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1375 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1376 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1378 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1379 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1380 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1381 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1382 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1383 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1384 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1385 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1386 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1387 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1389 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1390 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1391 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1392 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1393 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1394 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1395 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1396 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1397 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1398 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1399 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1400 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1402 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1403 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1404 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1405 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1407 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1408 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1409 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1410 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1411 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1412 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1413 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1414 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1415 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1416 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1419 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1420 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1422 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1423 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1426 @vindex gnus-init-file
1427 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1428 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1429 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1430 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1431 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1432 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1433 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1434 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1435 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1441 @cindex dribble file
1444 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1445 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1446 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1447 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1448 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1451 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1452 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1455 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1456 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1457 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1459 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1460 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1461 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1462 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1463 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1464 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1466 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1467 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1468 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1471 @node The Active File
1472 @section The Active File
1474 @cindex ignored groups
1476 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1477 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1478 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1480 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1481 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1482 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1483 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1484 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1485 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1486 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1489 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1490 @c if you set it to anything else.
1492 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1494 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1495 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1496 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1498 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1499 you actually subscribe to.
1501 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1502 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1503 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1504 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1506 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1507 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1508 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1509 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1510 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1511 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1513 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1514 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1515 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1518 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1519 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1520 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1521 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1522 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1523 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1525 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1526 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1528 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1529 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1531 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1532 secondary select methods.
1535 @node Startup Variables
1536 @section Startup Variables
1540 @item gnus-load-hook
1541 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1542 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1543 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1544 times you start gnus.
1546 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1547 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1548 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1550 @item gnus-startup-hook
1551 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1552 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1554 @item gnus-started-hook
1555 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1556 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1559 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1560 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1561 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1562 generating the group buffer.
1564 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1565 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1566 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1567 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1568 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1569 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1570 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1571 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1573 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1574 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1575 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1576 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1577 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1578 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1580 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1581 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1582 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1584 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1585 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1586 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1588 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1589 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1590 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1591 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1597 @chapter Group Buffer
1598 @cindex group buffer
1600 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1602 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1603 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1604 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1605 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1606 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1607 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1608 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1609 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1610 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1611 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1612 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1613 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1614 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1615 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1616 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1617 @c human rights at 9...
1620 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1621 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1622 long as gnus is active.
1626 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1627 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1628 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1629 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1630 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1631 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1632 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1633 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1639 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1640 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1641 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1642 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1643 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1644 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1645 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1646 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1647 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1648 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1649 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1650 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1651 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1652 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1653 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1654 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1655 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1659 @node Group Buffer Format
1660 @section Group Buffer Format
1663 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1664 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1665 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1669 @node Group Line Specification
1670 @subsection Group Line Specification
1671 @cindex group buffer format
1673 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1674 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1676 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1679 25: news.announce.newusers
1680 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1685 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1686 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1687 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1688 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1690 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1691 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1692 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1693 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1694 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1695 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1697 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1699 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1700 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1701 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1702 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1705 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1706 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1707 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1709 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1714 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1717 Whether the group is subscribed.
1720 Level of subscribedness.
1723 Number of unread articles.
1726 Number of dormant articles.
1729 Number of ticked articles.
1732 Number of read articles.
1735 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1736 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1738 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1739 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1740 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1741 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1742 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1743 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1744 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1745 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1748 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1751 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1760 Newsgroup description.
1763 @samp{m} if moderated.
1766 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1775 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1779 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1782 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1783 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1784 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1785 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1786 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1789 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1791 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1795 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1798 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1802 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1803 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1804 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1805 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1806 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1807 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1812 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1813 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1814 group, or a bogus native group.
1817 @node Group Modeline Specification
1818 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1819 @cindex group modeline
1821 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1822 The mode line can be changed by setting
1823 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1824 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1828 The native news server.
1830 The native select method.
1834 @node Group Highlighting
1835 @subsection Group Highlighting
1836 @cindex highlighting
1837 @cindex group highlighting
1839 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1840 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1841 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1842 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1843 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1845 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1849 (cond (window-system
1850 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1851 (defface my-group-face-1
1852 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1853 (defface my-group-face-2
1854 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1855 (defface my-group-face-3
1856 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1857 (defface my-group-face-4
1858 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1859 (defface my-group-face-5
1860 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1862 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1863 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1864 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1865 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1866 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1867 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1870 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1872 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1879 The number of unread articles in the group.
1883 Whether the group is a mail group.
1885 The level of the group.
1887 The score of the group.
1889 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1891 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1892 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1894 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1895 topic being inserted.
1898 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1899 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1900 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1902 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1903 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1904 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1905 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1906 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1909 @node Group Maneuvering
1910 @section Group Maneuvering
1911 @cindex group movement
1913 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1914 expected, hopefully.
1920 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1921 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1922 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1928 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1929 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1930 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1934 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1935 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1939 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1940 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1944 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1945 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1946 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1950 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1951 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1952 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1955 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1961 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1962 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1963 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1968 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1969 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1970 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1974 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1975 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1976 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1979 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1980 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1981 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1982 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1986 @node Selecting a Group
1987 @section Selecting a Group
1988 @cindex group selection
1993 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1994 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1995 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1996 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1997 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1998 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1999 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2000 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2001 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2002 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2004 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2005 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2006 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2008 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2009 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2014 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2015 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2016 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2017 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2018 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2022 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2023 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2024 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2025 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2026 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2027 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2028 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2029 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2030 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2031 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2034 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2035 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2036 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2037 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2038 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2041 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
2042 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2043 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2044 doing any processing of its contents
2045 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2046 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2047 manner will have no permanent effects.
2051 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2052 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2053 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2054 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2055 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2056 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2057 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2058 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2061 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2062 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2063 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2064 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2069 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2070 full summary buffer.
2073 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2076 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2081 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2082 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2083 Useful functions include:
2086 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2087 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2088 don't select the article.
2090 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2091 Select the first unread article.
2093 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2094 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2098 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2099 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2100 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2104 @node Subscription Commands
2105 @section Subscription Commands
2106 @cindex subscription
2114 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2115 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2116 Toggle subscription to the current group
2117 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2123 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2124 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2125 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2126 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2132 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2133 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2134 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2140 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2141 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2144 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2145 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2146 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2147 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2148 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2154 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2155 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2159 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2160 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2163 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2164 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2165 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2166 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2167 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2168 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2169 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2170 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2171 @file{.newsrc} file.
2175 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2185 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2186 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2187 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2188 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2189 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2190 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2195 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2196 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2197 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2201 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2202 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2203 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2205 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2206 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2207 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2208 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2209 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2210 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2217 @section Group Levels
2221 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2222 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2223 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2224 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2225 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2227 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2233 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2234 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2235 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2236 prompted for a level.
2239 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2240 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2241 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2242 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2243 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2244 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2245 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2246 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2247 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2248 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2249 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2250 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2251 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2252 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2253 reasons of efficiency.
2255 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2256 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2258 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2259 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2260 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2261 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2262 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2263 groups are hidden, in a way.
2265 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2266 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2267 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2268 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2269 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2270 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2272 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2273 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2274 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2275 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2276 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2277 list of killed groups.)
2279 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2280 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2281 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2283 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2284 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2285 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2286 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2287 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2288 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2289 relevant valid ranges.
2291 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2292 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2293 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2294 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2295 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2296 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2299 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2300 one with the best level.
2302 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2303 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2304 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2307 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2308 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2309 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2310 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2313 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2314 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2315 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2316 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2318 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2319 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2320 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2321 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2322 to 5. The default is 6.
2326 @section Group Score
2331 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2332 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2333 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2336 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2337 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2338 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2339 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2340 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2341 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2342 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2343 least significant part.))
2345 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2346 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2347 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2348 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2349 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2350 action after each summary exit, you can add
2351 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2352 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2353 slow things down somewhat.
2356 @node Marking Groups
2357 @section Marking Groups
2358 @cindex marking groups
2360 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2361 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2362 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2363 bidding on those groups.
2365 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2366 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2367 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2375 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2376 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2382 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2383 Remove the mark from the current group
2384 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2388 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2389 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2393 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2394 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2398 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2399 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2403 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2404 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2405 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2408 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2410 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2411 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2412 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2413 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2414 the command to be executed.
2417 @node Foreign Groups
2418 @section Foreign Groups
2419 @cindex foreign groups
2421 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2422 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2423 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2424 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2431 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2432 @cindex making groups
2433 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2434 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2435 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2439 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2440 @cindex renaming groups
2441 Rename the current group to something else
2442 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2443 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2449 @findex gnus-group-customize
2450 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2454 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2455 @cindex renaming groups
2456 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2457 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2461 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2462 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2463 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2467 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2468 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2469 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2473 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2475 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2476 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2481 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2482 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2486 @cindex (ding) archive
2487 @cindex archive group
2488 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2489 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2490 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2491 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2492 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2493 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2494 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2498 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2500 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2501 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2502 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2503 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2507 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2509 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2510 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2511 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2515 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2516 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2518 Make a group based on some file or other
2519 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2520 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2521 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2522 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2523 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2524 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2525 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2526 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2527 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2531 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2532 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2533 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2534 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2538 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2543 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2544 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2545 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2546 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2547 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2548 @xref{Web Searches}.
2550 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2551 to a particular group by using a match string like
2552 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2555 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2556 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2557 This function will delete the current group
2558 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2559 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2560 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2561 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2562 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2566 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2567 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2568 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2572 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2573 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2574 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2577 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2580 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2581 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2582 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2583 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2584 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2585 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2589 @node Group Parameters
2590 @section Group Parameters
2591 @cindex group parameters
2593 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2594 Here's an example group parameter list:
2597 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2601 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2602 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2603 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2604 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2606 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2607 is an alist of regexps and values.
2609 The following group parameters can be used:
2614 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2617 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2620 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2621 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2622 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2623 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2624 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2626 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2627 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2628 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2629 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2630 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2631 list address instead.
2633 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2637 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2640 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2643 It is totally ignored
2644 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2645 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2647 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2648 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2649 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2650 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2651 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2653 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2654 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2655 sending the message.
2657 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2658 @cindex Mail List Groups
2659 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2660 entering summary buffer.
2662 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2666 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2667 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2668 of whether it has any unread articles.
2670 @item broken-reply-to
2671 @cindex broken-reply-to
2672 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2673 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2674 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2675 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2676 broken behavior. So there!
2680 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2681 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2685 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2686 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2687 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2692 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2693 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2694 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2695 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2696 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2697 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2698 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2702 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2703 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2704 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2706 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2709 @cindex total-expire
2710 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2711 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2712 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2713 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2716 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2720 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2721 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2722 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2723 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2724 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2725 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2728 @cindex score file group parameter
2729 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2730 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2731 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2734 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2735 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2736 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2737 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2740 @cindex admin-address
2741 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2742 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2743 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2744 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2748 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2749 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2753 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2756 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2760 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2762 Here are some examples:
2766 Display only read articles.
2769 Display everything except expirable articles.
2771 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2772 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2776 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2777 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2778 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2779 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2780 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2784 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2785 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2786 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2790 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2791 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2792 gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2797 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2798 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2799 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2801 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2803 @item ignored-charsets
2804 @cindex ignored-charset
2805 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2806 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2807 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2809 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2812 @cindex posting-style
2813 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2814 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2815 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2816 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2817 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2819 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2820 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2821 like this in the group parameters:
2826 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2831 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2832 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2836 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2837 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2838 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2839 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2840 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2842 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2843 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2844 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2845 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2846 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2847 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2848 @code{eval}ed there.
2850 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2851 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2852 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2853 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2854 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2858 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2859 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2860 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2861 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2862 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2864 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2865 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2869 (setq gnus-parameters
2871 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2872 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2873 (gnus-summary-line-format
2874 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2878 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2882 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2886 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2889 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2890 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2893 @node Listing Groups
2894 @section Listing Groups
2895 @cindex group listing
2897 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2905 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2906 List all groups that have unread articles
2907 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2908 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2909 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2910 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2917 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2918 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2919 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2920 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2921 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2922 unsubscribed groups).
2926 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2927 List all unread groups on a specific level
2928 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2929 with no unread articles.
2933 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2934 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2935 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2936 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2941 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2942 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2946 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2947 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2948 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2952 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2953 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2957 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2958 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2959 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2960 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2961 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2962 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2963 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2964 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2968 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2969 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2970 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2974 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2975 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2976 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2980 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2981 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2985 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2986 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2990 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2991 List groups limited within the current selection
2992 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2996 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2997 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3001 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3002 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3006 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3007 @cindex visible group parameter
3008 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3009 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3010 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3011 get the same effect.
3013 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3014 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3015 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3016 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3017 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3020 @node Sorting Groups
3021 @section Sorting Groups
3022 @cindex sorting groups
3024 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3025 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3026 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3027 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3028 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3029 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3034 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3035 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3036 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3038 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3039 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3040 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3042 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3043 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3044 Sort by group level.
3046 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3047 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3048 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3050 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3051 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3052 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3053 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3055 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3056 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3057 Sort by number of unread articles.
3059 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3060 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3061 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3063 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3064 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3065 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3070 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3071 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3075 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3076 some sorting criteria:
3080 @kindex G S a (Group)
3081 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3082 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3083 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3086 @kindex G S u (Group)
3087 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3088 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3089 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3092 @kindex G S l (Group)
3093 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3094 Sort the group buffer by group level
3095 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3098 @kindex G S v (Group)
3099 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3100 Sort the group buffer by group score
3101 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3104 @kindex G S r (Group)
3105 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3106 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3107 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3110 @kindex G S m (Group)
3111 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3112 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3113 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3117 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3118 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3120 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3121 commands will sort in reverse order.
3123 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3127 @kindex G P a (Group)
3128 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3129 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3130 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3133 @kindex G P u (Group)
3134 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3135 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3136 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3139 @kindex G P l (Group)
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3141 Sort the groups by group level
3142 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3145 @kindex G P v (Group)
3146 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3147 Sort the groups by group score
3148 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3151 @kindex G P r (Group)
3152 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3153 Sort the groups by group rank
3154 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3157 @kindex G P m (Group)
3158 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3159 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3160 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3164 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3168 @node Group Maintenance
3169 @section Group Maintenance
3170 @cindex bogus groups
3175 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3176 Find bogus groups and delete them
3177 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3181 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3182 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3183 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3184 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3185 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3189 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3190 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3191 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3192 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3193 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3194 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3197 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3198 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3199 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3200 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3205 @node Browse Foreign Server
3206 @section Browse Foreign Server
3207 @cindex foreign servers
3208 @cindex browsing servers
3213 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3214 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3215 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3216 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3219 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3220 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3221 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3222 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3224 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3229 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3230 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3234 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3235 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3238 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3239 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3240 Enter the current group and display the first article
3241 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3244 @kindex RET (Browse)
3245 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3246 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3250 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3251 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3252 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3258 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3259 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3263 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3264 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3265 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3270 @section Exiting gnus
3271 @cindex exiting gnus
3273 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3278 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3279 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3280 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3281 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3285 @findex gnus-group-exit
3286 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3287 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3291 @findex gnus-group-quit
3292 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3293 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3296 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3297 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3298 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3299 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3300 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3305 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3306 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3307 trying to customize meta-variables.
3312 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3313 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3314 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3320 @section Group Topics
3323 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3324 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3325 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3326 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3327 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3328 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3332 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3333 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3344 2: alt.religion.emacs
3347 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3349 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3350 13: comp.sources.unix
3353 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3355 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3356 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3357 is a toggling command.)
3359 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3360 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3361 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3362 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3365 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3366 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3367 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3370 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3374 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3375 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3376 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3377 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3378 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3382 @node Topic Commands
3383 @subsection Topic Commands
3384 @cindex topic commands
3386 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3387 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3388 definitions slightly.
3390 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3391 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3392 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3393 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3394 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3395 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3397 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3404 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3405 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3406 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3410 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3412 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3413 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3414 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3415 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3418 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3419 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3420 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3421 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3425 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3426 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3427 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3428 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3434 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3435 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3436 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3440 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3441 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3442 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3445 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3446 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3447 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3448 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3449 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3451 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3452 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3456 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3457 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3464 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3466 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3467 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3468 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3469 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3470 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3471 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3475 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3481 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3482 Move the current group to some other topic
3483 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3484 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3488 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3489 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3493 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3494 Copy the current group to some other topic
3495 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3496 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3500 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3501 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3502 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3506 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3507 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3508 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3512 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3513 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3514 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3515 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3516 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3517 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3518 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3521 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3522 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3526 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3527 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3528 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3532 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3533 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3534 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3538 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3539 Toggle hiding empty topics
3540 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3544 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3545 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3546 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3549 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3550 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3551 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3552 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3555 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3556 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3557 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3558 expiry process (if any)
3559 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3563 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3564 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3567 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3568 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3569 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3573 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3574 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3575 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3579 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3580 @cindex group parameters
3581 @cindex topic parameters
3583 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3584 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3589 @node Topic Variables
3590 @subsection Topic Variables
3591 @cindex topic variables
3593 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3594 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3596 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3597 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3598 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3611 Number of groups in the topic.
3613 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3615 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3618 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3619 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3620 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3623 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3624 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3626 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3627 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3628 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3632 @subsection Topic Sorting
3633 @cindex topic sorting
3635 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3641 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3642 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3643 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3644 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3647 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3648 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3649 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3650 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3653 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3654 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3655 Sort the current topic by group level
3656 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3659 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3660 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3661 Sort the current topic by group score
3662 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3665 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3666 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3667 Sort the current topic by group rank
3668 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3671 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3672 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3673 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3674 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3678 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3681 @node Topic Topology
3682 @subsection Topic Topology
3683 @cindex topic topology
3686 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3692 2: alt.religion.emacs
3695 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3697 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3698 13: comp.sources.unix
3701 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3702 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3703 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3708 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3709 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3713 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3714 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3715 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3716 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3717 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3718 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3720 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3721 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3722 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3725 @node Topic Parameters
3726 @subsection Topic Parameters
3727 @cindex topic parameters
3729 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3730 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3731 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3733 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3738 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3739 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3740 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3745 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3746 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3747 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3748 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3754 2: alt.religion.emacs
3758 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3760 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3761 13: comp.sources.unix
3765 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3766 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3767 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3768 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3769 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3770 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3772 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3773 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3774 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3775 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3776 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3778 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3779 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3780 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3781 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3782 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3783 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3784 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3785 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3788 @node Misc Group Stuff
3789 @section Misc Group Stuff
3792 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3793 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3794 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3795 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3802 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3803 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3804 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3808 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3809 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3810 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3814 @findex gnus-group-mail
3815 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3819 Variables for the group buffer:
3823 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3824 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3825 is called after the group buffer has been
3828 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3829 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3830 is called after the group buffer is
3831 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3834 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3835 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3836 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3837 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3839 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3840 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3841 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3842 whether they are empty or not.
3844 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3845 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3846 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3847 non-ASCII group names.
3851 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3852 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3855 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3856 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3857 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3858 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3862 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3863 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3868 @node Scanning New Messages
3869 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3870 @cindex new messages
3871 @cindex scanning new news
3877 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3878 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3879 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3880 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3881 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3882 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3887 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3888 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3889 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3890 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3891 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3892 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3893 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3895 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3896 @cindex activating groups
3898 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3899 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3904 @findex gnus-group-restart
3905 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3906 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3907 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3911 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3912 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3914 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3915 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3919 @node Group Information
3920 @subsection Group Information
3921 @cindex group information
3922 @cindex information on groups
3929 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3930 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3933 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3934 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3935 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3936 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3937 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3938 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3939 for fetching the file.
3941 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3942 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3946 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3948 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3949 @cindex describing groups
3950 @cindex group description
3951 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3952 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3953 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3957 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3958 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3959 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3966 @findex gnus-version
3967 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3971 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3972 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3975 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3978 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3979 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3983 @node Group Timestamp
3984 @subsection Group Timestamp
3986 @cindex group timestamps
3988 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3989 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3990 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3993 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3996 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3998 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3999 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4002 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4003 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4006 This will result in lines looking like:
4009 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4010 0: custom 19961002T012713
4013 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4014 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4018 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4019 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4024 @subsection File Commands
4025 @cindex file commands
4031 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4032 @vindex gnus-init-file
4033 @cindex reading init file
4034 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4035 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4039 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4040 @cindex saving .newsrc
4041 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4042 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4043 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4046 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4047 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4048 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4053 @node Summary Buffer
4054 @chapter Summary Buffer
4055 @cindex summary buffer
4057 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4058 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4060 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4061 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4063 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4066 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4067 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4068 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4069 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4070 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4071 * Delayed Articles::
4072 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4073 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4074 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4075 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4076 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4077 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4078 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4079 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4080 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4081 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4082 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4083 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4084 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4085 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4086 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4087 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4088 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4089 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4090 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4091 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4092 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4093 or reselecting the current group.
4094 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4095 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4096 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4097 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4101 @node Summary Buffer Format
4102 @section Summary Buffer Format
4103 @cindex summary buffer format
4107 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4108 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4109 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4115 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4116 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4117 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4118 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4121 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4122 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4123 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4124 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4125 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4126 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4127 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4128 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4129 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4130 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4131 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4132 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4133 other function instead:
4136 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4137 'mail-extract-address-components)
4140 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4141 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4142 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4143 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4146 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4147 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4149 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4150 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4151 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4152 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4153 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4155 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4156 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4157 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4158 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4159 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4161 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4163 The following format specification characters are understood:
4169 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4170 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4172 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4173 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4174 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4176 Full @code{From} header.
4178 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4180 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4181 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4183 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4184 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4185 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4186 may be more thorough.
4188 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4191 Number of lines in the article.
4193 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4194 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4196 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4198 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4201 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4202 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4204 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4205 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4207 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4208 for adopted articles.
4210 One space for each thread level.
4212 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4217 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4218 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4222 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4224 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4225 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4226 default level. If the difference between
4227 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4228 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4236 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4238 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4244 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4245 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4247 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4248 article has any children.
4254 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4255 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4256 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4257 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4258 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4259 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4262 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4263 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4264 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4265 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4266 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4267 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4269 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4270 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4272 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4275 @node To From Newsgroups
4276 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4280 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4281 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4282 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4283 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4284 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4288 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4289 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4290 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4294 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4295 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4298 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4299 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4302 @findex gnus-extra-header
4303 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4304 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4305 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4308 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4312 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4313 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4314 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4315 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4316 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4317 headers are used instead.
4321 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4322 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4323 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4324 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4327 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4328 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4329 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4330 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4332 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4336 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4338 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4339 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4340 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4341 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4345 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4346 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4353 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4354 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4357 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4358 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4360 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4361 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4362 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4363 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4365 Here are the elements you can play with:
4371 Unprefixed group name.
4373 Current article number.
4375 Current article score.
4379 Number of unread articles in this group.
4381 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4384 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4385 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4386 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4387 and no unselected ones.
4389 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4390 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4392 Subject of the current article.
4394 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4396 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4398 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4400 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4402 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4404 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4408 @node Summary Highlighting
4409 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4413 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4414 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4415 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4416 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4417 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4419 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4420 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4421 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4422 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4424 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4425 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4426 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4427 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4429 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4430 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4431 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4432 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4433 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4434 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4437 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4438 ((> score default) . bold))
4440 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4441 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4445 @node Summary Maneuvering
4446 @section Summary Maneuvering
4447 @cindex summary movement
4449 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4450 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4452 None of these commands select articles.
4457 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4458 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4459 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4460 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4461 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4465 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4466 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4467 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4468 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4469 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4472 @kindex G g (Summary)
4473 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4474 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4475 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4478 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4479 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4480 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4481 to the group buffer.
4483 Variables related to summary movement:
4487 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4488 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4489 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4490 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4491 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4492 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4493 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4494 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4495 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
4496 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4497 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4498 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4499 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4500 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4502 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4503 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4504 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4505 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4506 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4507 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4508 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4510 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4512 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4513 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4514 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4515 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4516 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4518 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4519 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4520 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4521 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4522 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4523 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4524 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4525 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4528 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4529 the given number of lines from the top.
4534 @node Choosing Articles
4535 @section Choosing Articles
4536 @cindex selecting articles
4539 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4540 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4544 @node Choosing Commands
4545 @subsection Choosing Commands
4547 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4548 and they all select and display an article.
4550 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4551 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4555 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4556 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4557 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4558 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4563 @kindex G n (Summary)
4564 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4565 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4566 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4571 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4572 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4573 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4578 @kindex G N (Summary)
4579 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4580 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4585 @kindex G P (Summary)
4586 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4587 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4590 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4591 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4592 Go to the next article with the same subject
4593 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4596 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4597 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4598 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4599 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4603 @kindex G f (Summary)
4605 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4606 Go to the first unread article
4607 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4611 @kindex G b (Summary)
4613 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4614 Go to the article with the highest score
4615 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4620 @kindex G l (Summary)
4621 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4622 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4625 @kindex G o (Summary)
4626 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4628 @cindex article history
4629 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4630 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4631 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4632 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4633 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4634 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4639 @kindex G j (Summary)
4640 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4641 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4642 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4647 @node Choosing Variables
4648 @subsection Choosing Variables
4650 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4653 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4654 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4655 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4656 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4657 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4658 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4660 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4661 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4662 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4663 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4665 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4666 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4667 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4668 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4669 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4670 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4671 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4672 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4673 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4674 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4675 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4676 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4677 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4678 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4683 @node Paging the Article
4684 @section Scrolling the Article
4685 @cindex article scrolling
4690 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4691 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4692 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4693 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4694 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4697 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4698 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4699 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4702 @kindex RET (Summary)
4703 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4704 Scroll the current article one line forward
4705 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4708 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4709 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4710 Scroll the current article one line backward
4711 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4715 @kindex A g (Summary)
4717 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4718 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4719 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4720 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4721 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4722 the way it came from the server.
4724 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4725 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4726 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4729 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4734 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4739 @kindex A < (Summary)
4740 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4741 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4742 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4747 @kindex A > (Summary)
4748 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4749 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4753 @kindex A s (Summary)
4755 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4756 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4757 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4761 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4762 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4767 @node Reply Followup and Post
4768 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4771 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4772 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4773 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4774 * Canceling and Superseding::
4778 @node Summary Mail Commands
4779 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4781 @cindex composing mail
4783 Commands for composing a mail message:
4789 @kindex S r (Summary)
4791 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4792 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4793 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4794 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4795 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4800 @kindex S R (Summary)
4801 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4802 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4803 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4804 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4805 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4808 @kindex S w (Summary)
4809 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4810 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4811 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4812 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4813 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4816 @kindex S W (Summary)
4817 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4818 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4819 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4820 the process/prefix convention.
4823 @kindex S v (Summary)
4824 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4825 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4826 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4827 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4828 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4829 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4833 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4834 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4835 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4836 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4837 Forward the current article to some other person
4838 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4839 headers of the forwarded article.
4844 @kindex S m (Summary)
4845 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4846 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4847 Send a mail to some other person
4848 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4851 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4852 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4853 @cindex bouncing mail
4854 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4855 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4856 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4857 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4858 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4859 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
4860 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4861 very well fail, though.
4864 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4865 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4866 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4867 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4868 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4869 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4870 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4871 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4872 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4873 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4875 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4876 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4877 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4878 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4879 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4881 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4882 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4885 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4886 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
4887 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4888 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
4889 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4892 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4893 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4894 @cindex crossposting
4895 @cindex excessive crossposting
4896 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4897 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4899 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4900 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4901 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4902 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4903 command understands the process/prefix convention
4904 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4908 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
4909 Manual}, for more information.
4912 @node Summary Post Commands
4913 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4915 @cindex composing news
4917 Commands for posting a news article:
4923 @kindex S p (Summary)
4924 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4925 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4926 Post an article to the current group
4927 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4932 @kindex S f (Summary)
4933 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4934 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4935 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4939 @kindex S F (Summary)
4941 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4942 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4943 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4944 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4945 process/prefix convention.
4948 @kindex S n (Summary)
4949 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4950 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4951 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4954 @kindex S N (Summary)
4955 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4956 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4957 message through mail and include the original message
4958 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4959 the process/prefix convention.
4962 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4963 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4964 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4965 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4966 headers of the forwarded article.
4969 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4970 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
4972 @cindex making digests
4973 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4974 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
4975 process/prefix convention.
4978 @kindex S u (Summary)
4979 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4980 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4981 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4982 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4985 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
4986 Manual}, for more information.
4989 @node Summary Message Commands
4990 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4994 @kindex S y (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4996 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4997 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4998 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4999 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5004 @node Canceling and Superseding
5005 @subsection Canceling Articles
5006 @cindex canceling articles
5007 @cindex superseding articles
5009 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5010 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5012 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5014 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5016 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5017 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5018 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5019 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5020 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5021 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5023 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5024 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5027 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5028 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5029 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5031 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5032 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5033 your original article.
5035 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5037 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5038 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5039 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5042 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5043 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5044 have posted almost the same article twice.
5046 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5047 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5048 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5049 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5050 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5051 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5052 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5053 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5054 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5055 canceled/superseded.
5057 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5059 @node Delayed Articles
5060 @section Delayed Articles
5061 @cindex delayed sending
5062 @cindex send delayed
5064 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5065 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5066 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5067 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5070 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5073 @findex gnus-delay-article
5074 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5075 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5076 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5077 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5081 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5082 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5083 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5084 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5087 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5088 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5089 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5092 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5093 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5094 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5095 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5096 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5097 that means a time tomorrow.
5100 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5101 couple of variables:
5104 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5105 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5106 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5107 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5109 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5110 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5111 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5112 formats described above.
5114 @item gnus-delay-group
5115 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5116 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5117 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5118 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5120 @item gnus-delay-header
5121 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5122 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5123 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5124 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5127 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5128 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5129 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5130 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5131 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5133 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5134 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts}
5135 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5136 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5137 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5138 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} function.
5141 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5142 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5143 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5144 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} in
5145 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5146 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5147 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5148 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5150 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5151 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5152 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5153 forget to set that up :-)
5157 @node Marking Articles
5158 @section Marking Articles
5159 @cindex article marking
5160 @cindex article ticking
5163 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5165 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5166 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5167 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5169 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5172 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5173 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5174 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5178 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5182 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5183 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5184 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5188 @node Unread Articles
5189 @subsection Unread Articles
5191 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5196 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5197 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5199 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5200 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5201 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5202 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5203 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5204 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5205 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5208 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5209 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5211 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5212 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5213 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5214 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5218 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5219 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5221 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5226 @subsection Read Articles
5227 @cindex expirable mark
5229 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5234 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5235 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5236 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5239 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5240 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5243 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5244 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5245 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5248 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5249 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5252 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5253 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5256 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5257 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5260 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5261 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5264 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5265 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5268 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5269 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5272 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5273 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5277 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5278 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5279 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5283 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5284 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5286 One more special mark, though:
5290 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5291 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5293 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5294 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5295 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5296 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5302 @subsection Other Marks
5303 @cindex process mark
5306 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5312 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5313 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5314 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5315 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5316 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5319 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5320 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5321 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5322 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5324 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5325 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5326 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5328 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5329 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5330 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5331 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5334 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5335 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5336 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5339 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5340 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5341 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5342 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5345 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5346 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5347 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5348 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5349 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5352 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5353 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5354 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5357 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5358 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5359 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5360 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5361 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5364 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5365 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5366 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5367 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5368 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5369 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5373 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5374 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5375 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5377 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5378 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5379 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5383 @subsection Setting Marks
5384 @cindex setting marks
5386 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5391 @kindex M c (Summary)
5392 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5393 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5394 @cindex mark as unread
5395 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5396 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5402 @kindex M t (Summary)
5403 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5404 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5405 @xref{Article Caching}.
5410 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5411 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5412 Mark the current article as dormant
5413 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5417 @kindex M d (Summary)
5419 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5420 Mark the current article as read
5421 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5425 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5426 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5427 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5432 @kindex M k (Summary)
5433 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5434 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5435 and then select the next unread article
5436 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5440 @kindex M K (Summary)
5441 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5442 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5443 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5444 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5447 @kindex M C (Summary)
5448 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5449 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5450 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5453 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5454 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5455 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5456 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5459 @kindex M H (Summary)
5460 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5461 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5462 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5465 @kindex M h (Summary)
5466 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5467 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5468 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5471 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5472 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5473 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5474 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5477 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5478 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5479 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5480 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5484 @kindex M e (Summary)
5486 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5487 Mark the current article as expirable
5488 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5491 @kindex M b (Summary)
5492 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5493 Set a bookmark in the current article
5494 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5497 @kindex M B (Summary)
5498 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5499 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5500 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5503 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5504 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5505 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5506 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5509 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5510 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5511 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5512 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5515 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5516 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5517 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5518 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5519 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5522 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5523 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5524 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5525 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5526 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5527 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5528 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5529 The default is @code{t}.
5532 @node Generic Marking Commands
5533 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5535 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5536 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5537 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5538 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5539 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5542 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5543 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5546 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5547 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5548 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5549 to list in this manual.
5551 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5552 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5553 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5554 article, you could say something like:
5557 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5558 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5559 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5565 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5566 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5570 @node Setting Process Marks
5571 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5572 @cindex setting process marks
5579 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5580 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5581 Mark the current article with the process mark
5582 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5583 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5587 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5588 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5589 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5590 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5593 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5594 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5595 Remove the process mark from all articles
5596 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5599 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5600 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5601 Invert the list of process marked articles
5602 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5605 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5606 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5607 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5608 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5611 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5612 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5613 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5614 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5617 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5618 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5619 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5622 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5623 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5624 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5625 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5628 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5629 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5630 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5631 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5634 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5635 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5636 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5637 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5640 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5641 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5642 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5645 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5646 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5647 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5648 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5651 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5652 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5653 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5656 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5657 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5658 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5659 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5662 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5663 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5664 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5665 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5668 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5669 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5670 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5671 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5674 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5675 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5676 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5677 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5681 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5682 set process marks based on article body contents.
5689 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5690 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5691 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5694 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5695 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5696 additional articles.
5702 @kindex / / (Summary)
5703 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5704 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5705 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5708 @kindex / a (Summary)
5709 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5710 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5711 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5714 @kindex / x (Summary)
5715 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5716 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5717 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5718 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5722 @kindex / u (Summary)
5724 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5725 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5726 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5727 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5728 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5731 @kindex / m (Summary)
5732 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5733 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5734 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5737 @kindex / t (Summary)
5738 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5739 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5740 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5741 articles younger than that number of days.
5744 @kindex / n (Summary)
5745 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5746 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5747 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5748 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5751 @kindex / w (Summary)
5752 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5753 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5754 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5758 @kindex / v (Summary)
5759 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5760 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5761 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5764 @kindex / p (Summary)
5765 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5766 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5767 group parameter predicate
5768 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5769 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5773 @kindex M S (Summary)
5774 @kindex / E (Summary)
5775 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5776 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5777 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5780 @kindex / D (Summary)
5781 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5782 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5783 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5786 @kindex / * (Summary)
5787 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5788 Include all cached articles in the limit
5789 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5792 @kindex / d (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5794 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5795 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5798 @kindex / M (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5800 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5803 @kindex / T (Summary)
5804 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5805 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5808 @kindex / c (Summary)
5809 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5810 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5811 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5814 @kindex / C (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5816 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5817 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5818 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5821 @kindex / N (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
5823 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
5824 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
5827 @kindex / o (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
5829 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
5830 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
5838 @cindex article threading
5840 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5841 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5842 hierarchical fashion.
5844 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5845 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5846 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5847 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5848 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5849 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5850 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5852 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5856 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5859 A tree-like article structure.
5862 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5865 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5866 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5867 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5868 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5869 called loose threads.
5871 @item thread gathering
5872 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5874 @item sparse threads
5875 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5876 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5882 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5883 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5887 @node Customizing Threading
5888 @subsection Customizing Threading
5889 @cindex customizing threading
5892 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5893 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5894 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5895 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5900 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5903 @cindex loose threads
5906 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5907 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5908 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5909 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5910 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5911 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5913 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
5914 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
5915 There are four possible values:
5919 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5920 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
5921 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
5922 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
5923 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
5928 @cindex adopting articles
5933 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5934 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5935 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5936 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5939 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5940 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5941 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5942 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5943 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5944 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5945 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5948 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5949 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5950 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5954 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5955 display them after one another.
5958 Don't gather loose threads.
5961 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5962 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5963 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5964 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
5965 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5966 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5967 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5968 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5969 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5970 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
5971 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5973 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5974 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
5975 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5978 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5979 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5980 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5981 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5982 simplification is used.
5984 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5985 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5986 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5987 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5989 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5991 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5997 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5998 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5999 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6000 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6005 (mapconcat 'identity
6006 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6008 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6011 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6014 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6015 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6016 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6017 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6018 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6019 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6021 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6024 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6025 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6026 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6028 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6029 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6032 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6033 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6034 Remove excessive whitespace.
6037 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6040 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6041 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6042 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6043 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6044 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6045 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6046 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6047 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6049 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6050 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6051 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6052 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6053 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6054 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6055 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6056 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6057 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6061 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6062 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6063 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6064 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6066 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6067 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6068 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6071 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6075 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6076 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6082 @node Filling In Threads
6083 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6086 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6087 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6088 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6089 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6090 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6091 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6092 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6093 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6094 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6095 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6096 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6097 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
6099 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6100 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6101 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6103 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6104 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6105 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6106 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6107 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6108 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6109 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6110 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6111 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6112 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6113 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6114 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6115 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6116 @code{nil} by default.
6118 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6119 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6120 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6121 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6122 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6123 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6124 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6126 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6127 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6128 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6133 @node More Threading
6134 @subsubsection More Threading
6137 @item gnus-show-threads
6138 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6139 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6140 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6141 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6142 slower and more awkward.
6144 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6145 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6146 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6149 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6150 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6151 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6152 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6153 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6154 threads are expunged.
6156 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6157 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6158 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6161 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6162 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6163 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6164 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6165 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6166 result in a new thread.
6168 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6169 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6170 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6173 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6174 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6175 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6176 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6177 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6178 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6179 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6180 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6181 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6182 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6183 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6188 @node Low-Level Threading
6189 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6193 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6194 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6195 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6196 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6197 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6198 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6200 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6201 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6202 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6203 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6204 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6205 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6206 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6207 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6208 meaningful. Here's one example:
6211 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6213 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6214 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6216 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6218 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6225 @node Thread Commands
6226 @subsection Thread Commands
6227 @cindex thread commands
6233 @kindex T k (Summary)
6234 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
6235 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6236 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6237 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6238 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6243 @kindex T l (Summary)
6244 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
6245 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6246 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6247 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6250 @kindex T i (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6252 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6253 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6256 @kindex T # (Summary)
6257 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6258 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6259 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6262 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6264 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6265 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6268 @kindex T T (Summary)
6269 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6270 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6273 @kindex T s (Summary)
6274 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6275 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6276 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6279 @kindex T h (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6281 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6284 @kindex T S (Summary)
6285 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6286 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6289 @kindex T H (Summary)
6290 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6291 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6294 @kindex T t (Summary)
6295 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6296 Re-thread the current article's thread
6297 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6298 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6301 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6302 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6303 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6304 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6308 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6309 understand the numeric prefix.
6314 @kindex T n (Summary)
6316 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
6318 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6319 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6320 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6323 @kindex T p (Summary)
6325 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
6327 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6328 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6329 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6332 @kindex T d (Summary)
6333 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6334 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6337 @kindex T u (Summary)
6338 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6339 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6342 @kindex T o (Summary)
6343 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6344 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6347 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6348 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6349 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6350 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6351 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6352 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6353 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6354 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6355 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6356 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6357 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6358 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6362 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6363 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6365 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6366 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6367 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6368 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6369 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6370 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6371 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6372 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6373 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6374 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6375 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6377 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6378 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6379 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6380 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6381 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6383 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6384 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6385 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6387 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6388 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6389 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6390 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6391 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6392 ascending article order.
6394 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6395 by number, you could do something like:
6398 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6399 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6400 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6401 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6404 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6405 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6406 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6407 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6408 which the articles arrived.
6410 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6414 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6416 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6417 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6420 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6421 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6422 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6423 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6426 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6427 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6428 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6429 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6430 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6431 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6432 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6433 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6434 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6435 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6436 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6437 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6438 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6440 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6444 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6445 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6446 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6451 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6452 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6453 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6454 @cindex article pre-fetch
6457 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6458 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6459 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6460 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6461 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6463 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6464 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6466 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6467 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6468 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6469 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6470 connection is blocked.
6472 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6473 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6474 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6475 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6477 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6478 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6479 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6480 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6483 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6486 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6487 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6488 happen automatically.
6490 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6491 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6492 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6493 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6494 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6495 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6496 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6498 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6499 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6500 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6501 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6502 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6503 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6504 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6505 data structure as the only parameter.
6507 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6510 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6511 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6512 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6513 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6516 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6519 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6520 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6521 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6523 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6524 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6525 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6526 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6530 Remove articles when they are read.
6533 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6536 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6538 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6539 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6540 @c from the next group.
6543 @node Article Caching
6544 @section Article Caching
6545 @cindex article caching
6548 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6549 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6550 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6551 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6552 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6554 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6556 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6557 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6558 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6559 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6560 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6561 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6562 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6563 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6565 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6566 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6567 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6568 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6569 as dormant, and don't worry.
6571 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6573 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6574 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6575 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6576 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6577 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6578 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6579 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6580 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6581 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6582 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6584 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6585 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6586 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6587 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6588 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6589 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6590 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6591 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6592 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6593 not then be downloaded by this command.
6595 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6596 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6597 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6598 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6599 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6600 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6602 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6603 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6604 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6605 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6606 variables, the group is not cached.
6608 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6609 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6610 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6611 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6612 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6613 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
6614 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6615 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6616 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6620 @node Persistent Articles
6621 @section Persistent Articles
6622 @cindex persistent articles
6624 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6625 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6626 useful in my opinion.
6628 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6629 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6630 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6631 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6632 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6633 the expiry going on at the news server.
6635 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6636 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6637 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6643 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6644 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6647 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6648 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6649 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6650 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6654 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6656 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6657 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6658 interested in persistent articles:
6661 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6665 @node Article Backlog
6666 @section Article Backlog
6668 @cindex article backlog
6670 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6671 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6672 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
6673 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6674 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6675 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6676 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
6677 increase memory usage some.
6679 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6680 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
6681 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6682 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
6683 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6684 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6685 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6687 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6690 @node Saving Articles
6691 @section Saving Articles
6692 @cindex saving articles
6694 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6695 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6696 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6697 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6698 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6700 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6701 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
6702 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6704 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6705 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6706 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6707 deleted before saving.
6713 @kindex O o (Summary)
6715 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6716 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6717 Save the current article using the default article saver
6718 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6721 @kindex O m (Summary)
6722 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6723 Save the current article in mail format
6724 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6727 @kindex O r (Summary)
6728 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6729 Save the current article in rmail format
6730 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6733 @kindex O f (Summary)
6734 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6735 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6736 Save the current article in plain file format
6737 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6740 @kindex O F (Summary)
6741 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6742 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6743 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6746 @kindex O b (Summary)
6747 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6748 Save the current article body in plain file format
6749 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6752 @kindex O h (Summary)
6753 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6754 Save the current article in mh folder format
6755 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6758 @kindex O v (Summary)
6759 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6760 Save the current article in a VM folder
6761 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6765 @kindex O p (Summary)
6767 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6768 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6769 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6772 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6773 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6774 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6775 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6776 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6777 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6778 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6779 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6780 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6781 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6782 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6783 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6787 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6788 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6789 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6790 functions below, or you can create your own.
6794 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6795 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6796 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6797 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6798 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6799 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6800 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6802 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6803 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6804 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6805 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6806 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6807 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6809 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6810 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6811 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6812 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6813 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6814 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6815 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6817 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6818 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6819 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6820 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6821 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6823 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6824 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6825 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6826 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6827 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6830 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6831 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6832 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6833 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6834 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6836 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6837 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6838 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6839 reader to use this setting.
6842 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6843 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6844 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6845 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6848 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6849 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6850 available functions that generate names:
6854 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6855 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6856 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6858 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6859 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6860 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6862 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6863 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6864 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6866 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6867 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6868 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6870 @item gnus-sender-save-name
6871 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
6872 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
6875 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6876 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6877 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6878 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6879 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6883 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6884 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6885 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6886 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6889 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6890 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6891 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6892 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6893 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6894 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6895 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6896 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6897 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6899 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6900 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6901 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6902 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6904 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6905 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6906 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6909 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6910 lots of mail groups called things like
6911 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6912 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6913 following will do just that:
6916 (defun my-save-name (group)
6917 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6918 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6920 (setq gnus-split-methods
6921 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6926 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6927 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6928 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6929 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6930 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6931 all the files in the top level directory
6932 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6933 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6934 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6935 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6937 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6938 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6939 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6940 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6941 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6944 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6948 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6949 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
6950 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6953 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6954 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6955 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6956 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6959 @node Decoding Articles
6960 @section Decoding Articles
6961 @cindex decoding articles
6963 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6964 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6967 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6968 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6969 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6970 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6971 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6972 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6976 @cindex article series
6977 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6978 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6979 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6980 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6981 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6983 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6984 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6985 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6987 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
6988 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6989 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6991 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6992 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6993 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6996 @node Uuencoded Articles
6997 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6999 @cindex uuencoded articles
7004 @kindex X u (Summary)
7005 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7006 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7007 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7010 @kindex X U (Summary)
7011 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7012 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7013 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7016 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7017 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7018 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7021 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7022 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7023 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7024 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7028 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7029 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7030 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7031 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7032 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7034 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7035 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7036 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7037 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7040 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7041 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7042 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7043 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7044 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7045 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7049 @node Shell Archives
7050 @subsection Shell Archives
7052 @cindex shell archives
7053 @cindex shared articles
7055 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7056 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7057 some commands to deal with these:
7062 @kindex X s (Summary)
7063 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7064 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7067 @kindex X S (Summary)
7068 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7069 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7072 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7073 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7074 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7077 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7078 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7079 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7080 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7084 @node PostScript Files
7085 @subsection PostScript Files
7091 @kindex X p (Summary)
7092 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7093 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7096 @kindex X P (Summary)
7097 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7098 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7099 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7102 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7103 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7104 View the current PostScript series
7105 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7108 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7110 View and save the current PostScript series
7111 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7116 @subsection Other Files
7120 @kindex X o (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7122 Save the current series
7123 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7126 @kindex X b (Summary)
7127 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7128 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7129 doesn't really work yet.
7133 @node Decoding Variables
7134 @subsection Decoding Variables
7136 Adjective, not verb.
7139 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7140 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7141 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7145 @node Rule Variables
7146 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7147 @cindex rule variables
7149 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7150 variables are of the form
7153 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7160 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7161 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7163 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7164 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7167 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7168 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7171 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7172 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7173 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7174 user and default view rules.
7176 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7177 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7178 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7183 @node Other Decode Variables
7184 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7187 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7189 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7190 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7191 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7192 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7193 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7197 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7198 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7201 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7202 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7203 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7206 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7207 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7208 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7209 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7210 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7213 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7214 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7215 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7217 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7218 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7219 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7220 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7221 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7224 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7225 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7226 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7228 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7229 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7230 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7231 looking for files to display.
7233 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7234 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7235 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7238 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7239 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7240 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7243 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7244 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7245 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7248 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7249 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7250 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7253 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7254 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7255 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7256 decoded articles as unread.
7258 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7259 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7260 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7261 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7263 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7264 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7265 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7267 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7268 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7270 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7271 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7272 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7273 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7275 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7276 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7277 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7278 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7279 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7280 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7281 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7282 simply dropped them.
7287 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7288 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7292 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7293 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7294 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7295 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7296 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7297 for you when you post the article.
7299 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7300 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7301 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7302 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7304 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7305 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7306 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7307 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7308 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7309 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7310 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7312 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7313 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7314 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7315 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7316 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7317 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7318 Default is @code{t}.
7324 @subsection Viewing Files
7325 @cindex viewing files
7326 @cindex pseudo-articles
7328 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7329 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7330 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7331 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7332 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7333 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7334 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7336 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7337 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7338 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7339 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7341 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7342 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7343 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7345 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7346 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7347 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7348 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7349 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7351 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7352 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7353 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7354 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7355 a list of parameters to that command.
7357 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7358 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7359 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7361 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7362 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7363 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7366 @node Article Treatment
7367 @section Article Treatment
7369 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7370 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7371 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7372 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7373 these articles easier.
7376 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7377 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7378 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7379 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7380 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7381 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7382 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7383 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7387 @node Article Highlighting
7388 @subsection Article Highlighting
7389 @cindex highlighting
7391 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7392 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7397 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7398 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7399 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7400 Do much highlighting of the current article
7401 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7402 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7405 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7406 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7407 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7408 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7409 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7410 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7411 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7412 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7413 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7414 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7415 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7416 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7419 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7420 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7421 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7423 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7426 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7428 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7429 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7430 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7432 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7433 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7434 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7436 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7437 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7438 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7439 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7440 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7441 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7443 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7444 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7445 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7447 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7448 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7449 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7451 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7452 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7453 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7454 that it's a citation.
7456 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7457 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7458 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7460 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7461 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7462 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7464 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7465 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7466 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7467 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7473 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7474 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7475 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7476 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7477 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7478 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7479 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7480 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7485 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7488 @node Article Fontisizing
7489 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7491 @cindex article emphasis
7493 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7494 @kindex W e (Summary)
7495 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7496 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7497 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7498 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7500 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7501 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7502 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7503 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7504 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7505 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7506 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7507 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7511 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7512 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7513 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7522 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7523 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7524 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7525 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7526 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7527 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7528 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7529 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7530 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7531 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7532 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7533 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7534 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7536 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7537 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7538 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7542 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7545 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7547 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7548 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7549 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7550 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7552 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7555 @node Article Hiding
7556 @subsection Article Hiding
7557 @cindex article hiding
7559 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7560 too much cruft in most articles.
7565 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7566 @findex gnus-article-hide
7567 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7568 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7569 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7572 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7573 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7574 Toggle hiding of headers (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7578 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7579 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7580 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7581 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7584 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7585 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7586 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7590 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7591 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7592 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7593 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7594 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7595 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7596 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7597 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7601 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7602 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7603 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7604 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7609 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7610 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7611 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7612 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7613 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7614 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7615 articles that have signatures in them do:
7617 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7619 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7621 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7622 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7624 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7627 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7632 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7633 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7634 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7635 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7638 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7639 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7642 @cindex stripping advertisements
7643 @cindex advertisements
7644 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7645 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7646 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7647 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7648 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7649 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7650 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7651 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7652 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7653 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7657 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7658 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7659 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7660 customizing the hiding:
7664 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7665 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7666 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7667 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7668 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7669 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7670 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7675 Starting point of the hidden text.
7677 Ending point of the hidden text.
7679 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7681 Number of lines of hidden text.
7684 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7685 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7686 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7687 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7688 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7693 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7694 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7696 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7697 following two variables:
7700 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7701 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7702 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7703 50), hide the cited text.
7705 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7706 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7707 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7712 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7713 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7714 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7715 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7716 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7717 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7721 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7722 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7723 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7725 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7726 citation customization.
7728 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7732 @node Article Washing
7733 @subsection Article Washing
7735 @cindex article washing
7737 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7738 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7740 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7741 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7744 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7745 articles by default.
7750 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7751 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7755 @kindex W l (Summary)
7756 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7757 Remove page breaks from the current article
7758 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7762 @kindex W r (Summary)
7763 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7764 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7765 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7766 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7767 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7768 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7770 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7771 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7772 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7773 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7777 @kindex W t (Summary)
7779 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7780 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7781 (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}).
7784 @kindex W v (Summary)
7785 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7786 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7787 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7790 @kindex W m (Summary)
7791 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
7792 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
7793 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
7796 @kindex W o (Summary)
7797 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7798 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7801 @kindex W d (Summary)
7802 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7803 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7805 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7807 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7808 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7809 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7810 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7813 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7814 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7815 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7816 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7819 @kindex W w (Summary)
7820 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7821 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7823 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7827 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7828 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7829 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7832 @kindex W C (Summary)
7833 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7834 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7835 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7838 @kindex W c (Summary)
7839 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7840 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7841 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7842 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7843 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7846 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7847 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7848 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7849 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7850 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7851 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7852 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7854 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7857 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7858 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7859 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7860 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7861 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7864 @kindex W h (Summary)
7865 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7866 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7867 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7868 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7870 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7873 @kindex W f (Summary)
7875 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7876 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7877 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7878 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7885 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7886 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7887 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7888 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7889 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7890 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7891 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7892 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7893 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7894 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7895 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7896 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7897 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7898 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7899 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7900 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7901 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7902 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7903 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7904 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7908 @kindex W b (Summary)
7909 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7910 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7911 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7914 @kindex W B (Summary)
7915 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7916 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7917 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7920 @kindex W p (Summary)
7921 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
7922 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
7923 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
7924 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
7925 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
7926 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
7927 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
7930 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7931 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7932 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7933 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7936 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7937 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7938 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7939 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7942 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7943 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7944 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7945 lines with a single empty line.
7946 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7949 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7950 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7951 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7952 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7955 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7956 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7957 Do all the three commands above
7958 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7961 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7962 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7963 Remove all blank lines
7964 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7967 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7968 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7969 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7970 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7973 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7974 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7975 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7976 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7980 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7983 @node Article Buttons
7984 @subsection Article Buttons
7987 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7988 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7989 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7990 button on these references.
7992 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7993 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7994 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7999 @item gnus-button-alist
8000 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8001 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8004 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8010 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8011 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8012 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8015 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8016 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8017 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8020 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8021 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8022 avoid false matches.
8025 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8028 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8029 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8033 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8036 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8039 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8040 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8041 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8042 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8043 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8046 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8049 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8051 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8052 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8053 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8054 default values of the variables above.
8056 @item gnus-article-button-face
8057 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8058 Face used on buttons.
8060 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8061 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8062 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8066 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8070 @subsection Article Date
8072 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8073 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8074 when the article was sent.
8079 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8080 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8081 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8082 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8085 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8086 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8088 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8089 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8092 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8093 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8094 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8097 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8098 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8099 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8100 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8103 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8104 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8105 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8106 @findex format-time-string
8107 Display the date using a user-defined format
8108 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8109 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8110 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8111 for a list of possible format specs.
8114 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8115 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8116 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8117 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8118 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8119 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8122 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8125 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8126 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8129 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8130 into wonderful absurdities.
8132 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8135 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8138 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8139 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8143 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8144 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8145 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8146 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8147 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8148 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8149 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8153 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8154 preferred format automatically.
8157 @node Article Signature
8158 @subsection Article Signature
8160 @cindex article signature
8162 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8163 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8164 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8165 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8166 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8167 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8168 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8169 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8170 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8173 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8174 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8175 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8176 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8177 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8178 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8179 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8180 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8183 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8186 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8187 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8188 signature when displaying articles.
8192 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8195 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8198 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8199 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8201 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8202 in question is not a signature.
8205 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8206 listed above. Here's an example:
8209 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8210 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8213 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8214 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8215 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8216 signature after all.
8219 @node Article Miscellania
8220 @subsection Article Miscellania
8224 @kindex A t (Summary)
8225 @findex gnus-article-babel
8226 Translate the article from one language to another
8227 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8233 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8234 @cindex MIME decoding
8236 @cindex viewing attachments
8238 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8239 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8245 @kindex K v (Summary)
8246 View the @sc{mime} part.
8249 @kindex K o (Summary)
8250 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8253 @kindex K c (Summary)
8254 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8257 @kindex K e (Summary)
8258 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8261 @kindex K i (Summary)
8262 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8265 @kindex K | (Summary)
8266 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8269 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8274 @kindex K b (Summary)
8275 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8276 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8280 @kindex K m (Summary)
8281 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8282 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8283 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8284 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8285 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8288 @kindex X m (Summary)
8289 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8290 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8291 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8292 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8295 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8296 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8297 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8298 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8301 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8302 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8303 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8306 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8307 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8308 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8310 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8311 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8312 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8313 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8314 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8315 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8318 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8319 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8320 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8327 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8328 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8329 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8330 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8333 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8336 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8340 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8341 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8342 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8343 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8344 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8345 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8348 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8349 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8350 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8351 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8352 displayed. This variable overrides
8353 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8355 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8356 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8357 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8359 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8360 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8361 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8362 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8363 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8364 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8365 save all jpegs into some directory).
8367 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8370 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8371 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8373 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8374 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8375 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8376 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8377 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8380 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8381 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8382 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8384 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8385 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8386 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8387 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8389 Ready-made functions include@*
8390 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8391 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8392 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8393 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8394 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8395 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8396 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8397 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8398 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8399 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8400 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8401 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8403 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8404 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8406 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8407 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8408 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8411 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8412 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8413 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8414 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8418 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8427 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8428 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8429 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8430 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8431 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8432 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8433 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8435 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8436 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8437 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8438 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8440 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8441 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8442 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8443 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8444 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8445 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8446 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8447 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8449 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8450 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8451 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8452 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8453 quoted-printable header encoding.
8455 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8456 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8457 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8461 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8464 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8465 means encode all charsets),
8467 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8468 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8469 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8476 @cindex coding system aliases
8477 @cindex preferred charset
8479 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8481 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8482 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8485 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8486 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8489 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8490 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8492 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8495 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8498 This will almost do the right thing.
8500 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8504 (codepage-setup 1251)
8505 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8509 @node Article Commands
8510 @section Article Commands
8517 @kindex A P (Summary)
8518 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8519 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8520 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8521 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8522 run just before printing the buffer.
8527 @node Summary Sorting
8528 @section Summary Sorting
8529 @cindex summary sorting
8531 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8532 can't really see why you'd want that.
8537 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8538 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8539 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8542 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8543 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8544 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8547 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8548 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8549 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8552 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8553 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8554 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8557 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8558 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8559 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8562 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8563 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8564 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8567 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8568 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8569 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8572 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8573 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8574 Sort using the default sorting method
8575 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8578 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8579 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8580 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8581 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8582 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8586 @node Finding the Parent
8587 @section Finding the Parent
8588 @cindex parent articles
8589 @cindex referring articles
8594 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8595 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8596 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8597 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8598 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8599 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8600 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8601 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8602 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8604 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8605 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8606 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
8607 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8608 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8612 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8613 @kindex A R (Summary)
8614 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8615 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8618 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8619 @kindex A T (Summary)
8620 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8621 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8622 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8623 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8624 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8625 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8626 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8628 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8629 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8630 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8631 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8632 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8633 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8636 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8637 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8639 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8640 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8641 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8642 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8643 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8644 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8645 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8648 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8649 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8650 by giving this command a prefix.
8652 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8653 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8654 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8655 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8656 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8657 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8660 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8661 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8662 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8665 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8666 then ask Deja if that fails:
8669 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8671 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8674 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8675 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8676 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8677 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8678 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8679 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8683 @node Alternative Approaches
8684 @section Alternative Approaches
8686 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8687 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8690 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8691 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8696 @subsection Pick and Read
8697 @cindex pick and read
8699 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8700 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8701 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8702 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8704 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8705 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8706 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8707 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8708 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8709 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8711 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8716 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8717 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8718 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8719 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8720 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8721 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8722 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8723 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8726 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8727 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8728 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8729 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8733 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8734 Unpick the thread or article
8735 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8736 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8737 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8738 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8739 the thread or article at that line.
8743 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8744 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8745 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8746 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8747 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8748 will still be visible when you are reading.
8752 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8753 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8754 which is mapped to the same function
8755 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8757 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8760 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8763 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8764 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8766 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8767 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8768 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8770 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8771 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8772 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8773 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8774 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8775 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8776 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8780 @subsection Binary Groups
8781 @cindex binary groups
8783 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8784 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8785 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8786 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8787 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8788 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8789 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8792 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8793 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8794 command, when you have turned on this mode
8795 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8797 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8798 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8802 @section Tree Display
8805 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8806 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
8807 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8808 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8811 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8814 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8815 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8816 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8818 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8819 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8820 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8821 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8822 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8824 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8825 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8826 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8827 default is @code{modeline}.
8829 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8830 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8831 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8832 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8833 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8834 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8835 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8841 The name of the poster.
8843 The @code{From} header.
8845 The number of the article.
8847 The opening bracket.
8849 The closing bracket.
8854 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8856 Variables related to the display are:
8859 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8860 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8861 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8862 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8863 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8864 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8866 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8867 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8868 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8869 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8873 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8874 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8875 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
8876 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
8877 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8878 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8879 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8880 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8881 other windows displayed next to it.
8883 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8884 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8885 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8886 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8887 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8888 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8889 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8893 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8896 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8906 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8910 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8911 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8913 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8915 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8920 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8921 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8922 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8925 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8926 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8927 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8928 (gnus-add-configuration
8932 (summary 0.75 point)
8937 @xref{Window Layout}.
8940 @node Mail Group Commands
8941 @section Mail Group Commands
8942 @cindex mail group commands
8944 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8945 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8947 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8948 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8953 @kindex B e (Summary)
8954 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8955 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
8956 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
8957 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
8958 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
8961 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8962 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8963 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8964 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8965 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8966 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8969 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8970 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8971 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8972 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8973 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8974 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8977 @kindex B m (Summary)
8979 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8980 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8981 Move the article from one mail group to another
8982 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8983 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8986 @kindex B c (Summary)
8988 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8989 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8990 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8991 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8992 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8995 @kindex B B (Summary)
8996 @cindex crosspost mail
8997 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8998 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8999 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9000 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9001 be properly updated.
9004 @kindex B i (Summary)
9005 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9006 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9007 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9008 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9011 @kindex B r (Summary)
9012 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9013 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9014 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9015 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9016 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9017 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9018 (which is the default).
9022 @kindex B w (Summary)
9024 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9025 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9026 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9027 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9028 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9029 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9032 @kindex B q (Summary)
9033 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9034 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9035 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9036 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9039 @kindex B t (Summary)
9040 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9041 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9042 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9045 @kindex B p (Summary)
9046 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9047 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9048 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9049 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9050 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9051 article from your news server (or rather, from
9052 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9053 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9054 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9055 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9056 just not have arrived yet.
9060 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9061 @cindex moving articles
9062 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9063 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9064 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9065 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9066 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9067 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9068 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9071 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9072 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9073 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9074 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9078 @node Various Summary Stuff
9079 @section Various Summary Stuff
9082 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9083 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9084 * Summary Generation Commands::
9085 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9089 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9090 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9091 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9093 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9094 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9095 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9096 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9097 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9098 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9101 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9102 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9103 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9104 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9105 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9107 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9108 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9109 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9112 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9113 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9114 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9115 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9116 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9117 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9118 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9119 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9120 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9121 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9123 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9124 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9125 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9126 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9127 list of articles to be selected.
9129 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9130 the list in one particular group:
9133 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9134 (if (string= group "some.group")
9135 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9142 @node Summary Group Information
9143 @subsection Summary Group Information
9148 @kindex H f (Summary)
9149 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9150 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9151 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9152 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9153 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9154 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9155 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9156 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9157 be used for fetching the file.
9160 @kindex H d (Summary)
9161 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9162 Give a brief description of the current group
9163 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9164 rereading the description from the server.
9167 @kindex H h (Summary)
9168 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9169 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9170 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9173 @kindex H i (Summary)
9174 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9175 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9179 @node Searching for Articles
9180 @subsection Searching for Articles
9185 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9186 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9187 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9188 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9191 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9192 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9193 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9194 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9198 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9199 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9200 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9201 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9202 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9203 search backward instead.
9205 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9206 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9209 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9210 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9211 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9212 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9215 @node Summary Generation Commands
9216 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9221 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9222 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9223 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9226 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9227 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9228 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9229 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9234 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9235 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9241 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9242 @kindex A D (Summary)
9243 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9244 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9245 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9246 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9247 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9248 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9249 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9250 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9254 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
9255 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9256 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9257 several documents into one biiig group
9258 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9259 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9260 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9261 command understands the process/prefix convention
9262 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9265 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9266 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9267 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9268 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9269 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9270 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9274 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9275 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9276 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9279 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
9280 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9281 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9282 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9285 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
9286 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9287 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9288 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9293 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9294 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9295 @cindex summary exit
9296 @cindex exiting groups
9298 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9299 group and return you to the group buffer.
9305 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9307 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9308 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9309 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9310 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9311 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9312 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9313 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9314 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9315 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9316 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9317 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9321 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9323 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9324 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9325 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9329 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9331 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9332 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9333 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9334 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9337 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9338 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9339 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9340 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9343 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9344 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9345 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9346 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9349 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9350 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9351 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9352 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9353 all articles, both read and unread.
9357 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9358 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9359 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9360 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9361 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9362 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9363 articles, both read and unread.
9366 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9367 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9368 Exit the group and go to the next group
9369 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9372 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9373 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9374 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9375 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9378 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9379 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9380 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9381 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9382 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9383 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9386 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9387 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9388 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9389 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9391 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9392 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9393 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9394 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9395 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9396 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9397 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9398 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9399 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9400 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9401 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9402 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9404 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9406 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9407 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9408 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9409 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9410 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9411 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9412 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9413 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9414 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9417 @node Crosspost Handling
9418 @section Crosspost Handling
9422 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9423 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9424 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9425 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9426 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9427 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9430 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9431 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9432 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9433 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9434 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9436 @cindex cross-posting
9439 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9440 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9441 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9442 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9443 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9444 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9445 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9446 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9447 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9448 the cross reference mechanism.
9450 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9451 @cindex overview.fmt
9452 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9453 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9454 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9455 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9456 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9457 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9460 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9461 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9462 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9467 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9470 @node Duplicate Suppression
9471 @section Duplicate Suppression
9473 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9474 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9475 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9476 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9481 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9482 is evil and not very common.
9485 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9486 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9489 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9490 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9493 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9496 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9497 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9499 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9500 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9501 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9502 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9503 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9504 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9505 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9508 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9509 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9510 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9511 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9512 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9516 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9517 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9518 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9520 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9521 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9522 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9523 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9524 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
9525 session are suppressed.
9527 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9528 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9529 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9530 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9532 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9533 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9534 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9535 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9538 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
9539 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9540 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9541 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9542 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
9543 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9544 to you to figure out, I think.
9549 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9550 The formats that are supported are PGP and S/MIME, however you need
9551 some external programs to get things to work:
9555 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9556 gpg.el as well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG). @xref{Using GPG}.
9559 To verify or decrypt S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL.
9560 OpenSSL 0.9.6 or newer is recommended.
9564 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9565 manual. @xref{Security, ,Security, message, The Message Manual}.
9568 @item mm-verify-option
9569 @vindex mm-verify-option
9570 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9571 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9572 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9574 @item mm-decrypt-option
9575 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9576 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9577 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9578 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9583 @section Mailing List
9585 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9586 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9587 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9590 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9593 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9598 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9599 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9600 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9603 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9604 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9605 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9608 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9609 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9610 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9614 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9615 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9616 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9619 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9620 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9621 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9624 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9625 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9626 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9630 @node Article Buffer
9631 @chapter Article Buffer
9632 @cindex article buffer
9634 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9635 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9636 tell gnus otherwise.
9639 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9640 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9641 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9642 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9643 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9647 @node Hiding Headers
9648 @section Hiding Headers
9649 @cindex hiding headers
9650 @cindex deleting headers
9652 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9653 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9655 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9656 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9657 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9658 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9659 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9660 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9661 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9662 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9663 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9665 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9669 @item gnus-visible-headers
9670 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9671 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9672 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9673 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9675 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9676 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9679 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9682 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9685 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9686 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9687 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9688 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9689 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9690 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9692 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
9693 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
9696 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9699 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9702 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9703 variable will have no effect.
9707 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9708 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9709 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9710 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9711 the headers are to be displayed.
9713 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9714 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9717 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9720 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9721 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9723 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9724 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9725 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9726 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9727 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9728 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9729 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9732 These conditions are:
9735 Remove all empty headers.
9737 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9738 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9740 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9743 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9746 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9747 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9749 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9752 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9754 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9757 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9760 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9761 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9764 This is also the default value for this variable.
9768 @section Using @sc{mime}
9771 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9772 while people stand around yawning.
9774 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9775 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9777 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9778 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9779 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9781 @vindex gnus-show-mime
9782 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
9783 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
9784 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
9785 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
9786 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
9787 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
9788 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
9789 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
9790 existed yet, sorry).
9792 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
9793 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
9794 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
9795 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
9796 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
9797 buffer. These can't be avoided.
9799 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
9800 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
9801 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
9802 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
9803 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
9804 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
9805 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
9806 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
9807 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
9810 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9812 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
9813 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
9814 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
9815 buffer when there are nobody else.
9817 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9820 @node Customizing Articles
9821 @section Customizing Articles
9822 @cindex article customization
9824 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9825 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9826 called automatically when you select the articles.
9828 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9829 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9830 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9831 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9833 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9834 for sensible values.
9838 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9841 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9844 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9847 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9850 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9854 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9855 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9856 regexps in the list.
9859 A list where the first element is not a string:
9861 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9862 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9863 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9867 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9871 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
9876 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9877 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9878 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9879 considered to contain just a single part.
9881 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9882 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9883 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9884 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9885 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9886 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9887 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9889 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9890 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9891 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9892 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9895 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9896 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9897 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9898 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9899 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9900 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9901 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9902 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9903 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9904 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9905 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9906 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9907 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
9908 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9909 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9910 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9911 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9912 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9913 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9914 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9915 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9916 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9917 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9918 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9919 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9920 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9921 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9922 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9923 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9924 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9925 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9926 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9927 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9928 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9929 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9930 @item gnus-treat-translate
9931 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset
9934 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9935 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9936 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9937 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9938 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9942 @node Article Keymap
9943 @section Article Keymap
9945 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9946 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9947 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9948 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9951 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9956 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9957 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9958 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9961 @kindex DEL (Article)
9962 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9963 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9966 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9967 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9968 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9969 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9970 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9973 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9974 @findex gnus-article-mail
9975 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9976 given a prefix, include the mail.
9980 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9981 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9982 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9986 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9987 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9988 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9991 @kindex TAB (Article)
9992 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9993 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9994 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9997 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9998 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9999 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10005 @section Misc Article
10009 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10010 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10011 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10012 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10015 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10016 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10018 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10019 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10021 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10022 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10023 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10024 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10025 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10026 the contents of the article buffer.
10028 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10029 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10030 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10032 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10033 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10034 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10035 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10037 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10038 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10039 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10040 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10041 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10046 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10047 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10050 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10053 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10055 @item gnus-break-pages
10056 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10057 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10058 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10059 paging will not be done.
10061 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10062 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10063 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10068 @node Composing Messages
10069 @chapter Composing Messages
10070 @cindex composing messages
10073 @cindex sending mail
10079 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10080 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10081 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10082 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10083 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10084 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10087 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10088 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10089 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10090 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10091 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10092 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10093 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10094 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10097 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10098 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10104 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10107 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10108 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10109 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10110 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10112 @item gnus-add-to-list
10113 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10114 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10115 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10120 @node Posting Server
10121 @section Posting Server
10123 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10124 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10126 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10128 @vindex gnus-post-method
10130 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10131 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10132 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10133 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10134 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10135 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10136 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10139 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10142 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10143 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10144 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10145 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10147 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10148 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10150 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10151 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10154 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10155 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
10158 @node Mail and Post
10159 @section Mail and Post
10161 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10165 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10166 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10167 @cindex mailing lists
10169 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10170 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10171 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10172 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10173 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10174 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10175 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10176 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10177 still a pain, though.
10181 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10182 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10183 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10186 @findex ispell-message
10188 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10191 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10192 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10195 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10199 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10200 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10202 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10205 Modify to suit your needs.
10208 @node Archived Messages
10209 @section Archived Messages
10210 @cindex archived messages
10211 @cindex sent messages
10213 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10214 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10215 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10216 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10219 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10220 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
10221 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10224 (nnfolder "archive"
10225 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10226 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10227 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10228 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10231 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10232 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10233 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10234 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10237 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10238 '(nnfolder "archive"
10239 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10240 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10241 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10244 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10246 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10247 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10248 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10250 This variable can be used to do the following:
10254 Messages will be saved in that group.
10256 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10257 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10258 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10259 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10260 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10261 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10262 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10263 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10265 @item a list of strings
10266 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10267 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10268 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10270 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10275 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10277 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10280 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10282 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10285 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10287 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10288 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10289 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10290 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10293 More complex stuff:
10295 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10296 '((if (message-news-p)
10301 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10302 messages in one file per month:
10305 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10306 '((if (message-news-p)
10308 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10311 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10312 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10314 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10315 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10316 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10317 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10318 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10319 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10320 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10321 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10322 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10323 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10325 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10326 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10327 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10328 this will disable archiving.
10331 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10332 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10333 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10334 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10335 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10338 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10339 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10340 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10343 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10344 but the latter is the preferred method.
10346 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10347 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10348 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10353 @node Posting Styles
10354 @section Posting Styles
10355 @cindex posting styles
10358 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10360 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10361 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10362 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10365 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10366 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10367 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10368 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10369 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10374 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10375 (organization "What me?"))
10377 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10378 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10379 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10382 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10383 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10384 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10385 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10386 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10387 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10388 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10389 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10391 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10392 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10393 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10394 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10395 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10396 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10397 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10398 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10399 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10401 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10402 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10403 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10404 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10405 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10406 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10407 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10408 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10409 result is thrown away.
10411 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10412 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10413 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10414 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10415 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10416 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10418 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10419 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10420 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10422 @findex message-mail-p
10423 @findex message-news-p
10425 So here's a new example:
10428 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10430 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10432 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10433 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10435 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10436 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10437 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10439 (signature my-news-signature))
10440 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10441 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10442 ((posting-from-work-p)
10443 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10444 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10445 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10446 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10448 (From (save-excursion
10449 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10450 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10452 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10455 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10456 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10457 if you fill many roles.
10464 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10465 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10466 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10467 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10468 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10470 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10471 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10472 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10473 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10474 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10478 @vindex nndraft-directory
10479 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10480 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10481 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10482 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10483 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10484 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10486 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10487 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10490 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10491 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10492 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10493 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10494 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10495 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10496 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10497 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10498 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10499 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10500 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10501 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10502 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10503 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10505 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10506 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10507 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10509 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10510 @kindex D e (Draft)
10511 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10512 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10513 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10515 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10518 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10519 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10520 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10521 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10522 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10523 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10524 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10527 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10528 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10529 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10532 @node Rejected Articles
10533 @section Rejected Articles
10534 @cindex rejected articles
10536 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10537 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10538 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10539 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10541 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
10542 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10543 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10544 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
10545 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10547 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10548 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10549 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10555 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10556 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10557 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10559 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10560 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10564 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10565 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10568 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10569 to 700, for your own safety.
10571 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10572 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10576 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10579 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10580 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10583 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10586 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10587 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME,
10588 @kbd{C-c C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also
10589 @kbd{C-c C-m c p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c
10590 C-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME. @xref{Security, ,Security, message,
10591 The Message Manual}.
10593 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10594 you've typed it correctly.
10596 @node Select Methods
10597 @chapter Select Methods
10598 @cindex foreign groups
10599 @cindex select methods
10601 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10602 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10603 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10604 personal mail group.
10606 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10607 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10608 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10609 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10610 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10611 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
10613 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10614 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10616 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
10619 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10620 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10621 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10622 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10623 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10625 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10628 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10629 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10630 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10631 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10632 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
10633 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10634 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10635 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10639 @node Server Buffer
10640 @section Server Buffer
10642 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10643 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10644 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10645 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10646 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10647 back end represents a virtual server.
10649 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
10650 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10651 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
10652 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10654 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10655 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10656 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10657 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10658 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10659 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10660 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10662 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10663 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10666 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10667 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10668 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10669 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10670 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10671 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10672 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10675 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10676 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10679 @node Server Buffer Format
10680 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10681 @cindex server buffer format
10683 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10684 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10685 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10686 variable, with some simple extensions:
10691 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
10694 The name of this server.
10697 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10700 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10703 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10704 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10705 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10706 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10716 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10719 @node Server Commands
10720 @subsection Server Commands
10721 @cindex server commands
10727 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10728 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10732 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10733 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10736 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10737 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10738 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10742 @findex gnus-server-exit
10743 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10747 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10748 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10752 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10753 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10757 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10758 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10762 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10763 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10767 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10768 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10769 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10774 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10775 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10776 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10777 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
10782 @node Example Methods
10783 @subsection Example Methods
10785 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10788 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10791 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10797 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10798 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10801 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10802 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10804 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10805 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10809 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10812 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
10813 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10815 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10816 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10817 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10821 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10824 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10827 Here's the method for a public spool:
10831 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10832 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10838 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10839 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10840 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10841 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10842 should probably look something like this:
10846 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
10847 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
10848 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
10849 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10852 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10853 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
10854 configuration to the example above:
10857 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
10860 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
10861 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
10862 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
10866 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
10867 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
10868 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
10869 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10872 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10873 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10874 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10875 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10878 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10879 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10881 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10882 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10884 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10885 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10886 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10888 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10890 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10891 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10892 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10893 will contain the following:
10903 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10904 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10905 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10908 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10909 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10910 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10913 @node Server Variables
10914 @subsection Server Variables
10916 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
10917 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10918 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10919 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10920 won't change the "derived" variables.
10922 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10923 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10924 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10925 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10926 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10927 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10928 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10929 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
10930 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10934 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10935 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10936 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10940 @node Servers and Methods
10941 @subsection Servers and Methods
10943 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10944 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10945 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10946 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10950 @node Unavailable Servers
10951 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10953 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10954 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10955 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10956 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10957 actually the case or not.
10959 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10960 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10961 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10962 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10963 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10964 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10965 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10966 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10968 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10969 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10971 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
10972 with the following commands:
10978 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10979 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10980 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10984 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10985 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10986 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10990 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10991 Mark the current server as unreachable
10992 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10995 @kindex M-o (Server)
10996 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10997 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10998 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11001 @kindex M-c (Server)
11002 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11003 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11004 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11008 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11009 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11010 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11016 @section Getting News
11017 @cindex reading news
11018 @cindex news back ends
11020 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11021 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11022 or it can read from a local spool.
11025 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11026 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11031 @subsection @sc{nntp}
11034 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11035 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11036 server as the, uhm, address.
11038 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11039 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11040 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11041 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11043 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11044 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11045 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11047 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11052 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11053 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11054 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11056 @cindex authentification
11057 @cindex nntp authentification
11058 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11059 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11060 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11061 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11062 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11063 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11064 present in this hook.
11066 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11067 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11068 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11069 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11070 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11071 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11072 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11073 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11074 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11075 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11076 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11077 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11081 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11084 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11086 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11087 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11088 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11089 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11090 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11091 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11092 @samp{force} is explained below.
11096 Here's an example file:
11099 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11100 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11103 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11104 have to be first, for instance.
11106 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11107 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11108 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11109 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11110 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11111 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11112 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11114 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11115 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11121 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11122 previously mentioned.
11124 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11126 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11127 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11128 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11129 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11130 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11133 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11134 '(("innd" (ding))))
11137 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11139 The default value is
11142 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11143 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11144 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11147 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11148 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11150 @item nntp-maximum-request
11151 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11152 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11153 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11154 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11155 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11156 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11157 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11159 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11160 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11161 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11162 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11163 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11164 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11165 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11166 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11167 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11168 no timeouts are done.
11170 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11171 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11172 @c @cindex PPP connections
11173 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11174 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11175 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11176 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11177 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11178 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11179 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11180 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11181 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11182 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11184 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11185 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11186 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11187 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11188 @c described above.
11190 @item nntp-server-hook
11191 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11192 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11195 @item nntp-buggy-select
11196 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11197 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11199 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11200 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11201 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11202 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11205 @item nntp-xover-commands
11206 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11209 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11210 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11214 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11215 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11216 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11217 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11218 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11219 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11220 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11221 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11222 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11223 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11224 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11226 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11227 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11228 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11230 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11231 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11232 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11233 server closes connection.
11235 @item nntp-record-commands
11236 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11237 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11238 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11239 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11240 that doesn't seem to work.
11242 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11243 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11244 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11245 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11246 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11247 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11248 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11249 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11251 @item nntp-list-options
11252 @vindex nntp-list-options
11253 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
11254 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
11255 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
11256 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
11257 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
11261 (setq gnus-select-method
11262 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
11263 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
11266 @item nntp-options-subscribe
11267 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
11268 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
11269 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
11270 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
11271 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
11272 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
11275 (setq gnus-select-method
11276 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
11277 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
11280 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
11281 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
11282 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
11283 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
11284 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
11285 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
11286 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
11289 (setq gnus-select-method
11290 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
11291 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
11296 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11297 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11298 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11302 @node Direct Functions
11303 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11304 @cindex direct connection functions
11306 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11307 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11308 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11309 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11312 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11313 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11314 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11317 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11318 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11319 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11320 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11321 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11322 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11323 define a server as follows:
11326 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11328 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11330 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11331 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11332 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11333 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11336 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11337 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11338 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11339 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11340 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11341 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11342 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11343 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11347 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11348 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11349 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11352 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11353 session, which is not a good idea.
11357 @node Indirect Functions
11358 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11359 @cindex indirect connection functions
11361 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11362 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11363 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11364 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11365 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11366 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11369 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11370 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11371 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11372 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11373 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11375 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11378 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11379 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11380 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11381 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11384 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11385 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11386 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11387 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11389 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11392 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11393 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11394 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11397 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11398 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11399 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11400 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11402 @item nntp-via-user-password
11403 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11404 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11406 @item nntp-via-envuser
11407 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11408 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11409 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11410 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11412 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11413 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11414 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11415 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11422 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11427 @item nntp-via-user-name
11428 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11429 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11431 @item nntp-via-address
11432 @vindex nntp-via-address
11433 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11438 @node Common Variables
11439 @subsubsection Common Variables
11441 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11442 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11447 @item nntp-pre-command
11448 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11449 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11450 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11451 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11452 wrapper for instance.
11455 @vindex nntp-address
11456 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11458 @item nntp-port-number
11459 @vindex nntp-port-number
11460 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11462 @item nntp-end-of-line
11463 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11464 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11465 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11466 using a non native connection function.
11468 @item nntp-telnet-command
11469 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11470 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11471 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11472 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11474 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11475 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11476 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11483 @subsection News Spool
11487 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11488 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11489 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11492 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11493 anything else) as the address.
11495 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11496 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11497 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11498 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11502 @item nnspool-inews-program
11503 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11504 Program used to post an article.
11506 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11507 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11508 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11510 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11511 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11512 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11513 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11515 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11516 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11517 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11518 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11520 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11521 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11522 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11524 @item nnspool-active-file
11525 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11526 The path to the active file.
11528 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11529 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11530 The path to the group descriptions file.
11532 @item nnspool-history-file
11533 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11534 The path to the news history file.
11536 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11537 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11538 The path to the active date file.
11540 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11541 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11542 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11545 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11546 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11548 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11549 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11550 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11556 @section Getting Mail
11557 @cindex reading mail
11560 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11564 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11565 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11566 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11567 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11568 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11569 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11570 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11571 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11572 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11573 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11574 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11575 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
11576 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11577 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
11581 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11582 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11584 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11585 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11586 of a culture shock.
11588 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11589 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11591 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11592 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11593 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11594 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11596 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11598 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11599 deleted? How awful!
11601 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11602 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11603 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11604 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11607 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11608 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11609 they want to treat a message.
11611 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11612 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11613 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11614 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11615 archived somewhere else.
11617 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11618 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11619 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11620 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11621 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11623 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11624 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11625 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11627 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11628 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11631 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11632 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11633 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11634 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11635 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11637 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11638 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11639 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11640 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11641 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11642 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11646 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11647 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11649 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11650 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11651 and things will happen automatically.
11653 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11654 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11657 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11660 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
11661 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11662 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11663 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11664 like any other group.
11666 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11669 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11670 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11671 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11675 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11676 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11677 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11680 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11681 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11682 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11685 @node Splitting Mail
11686 @subsection Splitting Mail
11687 @cindex splitting mail
11688 @cindex mail splitting
11690 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11691 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11692 to be split into groups.
11695 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11696 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11697 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11698 ("mail.other" "")))
11701 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11702 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11703 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11704 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11705 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11706 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11707 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11710 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11713 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11714 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11715 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11716 mail belongs in that group.
11718 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11719 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11720 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11721 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11722 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11723 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11725 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11726 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11727 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11728 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11729 thinks should carry this mail message.
11731 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11732 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11733 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11734 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11736 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11737 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11738 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11739 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11740 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11742 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11745 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11746 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11747 links. If that's the case for you, set
11748 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11749 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11751 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11752 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11753 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11754 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11755 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11756 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11759 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11760 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11761 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11762 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11763 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11764 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11765 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11766 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11767 month's rent money.
11771 @subsection Mail Sources
11773 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11774 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11778 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11779 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11780 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11784 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11785 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11787 @cindex mail server
11790 @cindex mail source
11792 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11793 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11798 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11801 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11802 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11803 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11806 The following mail source types are available:
11810 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11816 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11817 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11820 An example file mail source:
11823 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11826 Or using the default path:
11832 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11833 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11834 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11837 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11841 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11844 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11848 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11851 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11853 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11856 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11860 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11861 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11862 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
11863 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
11864 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
11870 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11874 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11878 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11879 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11880 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11881 predicate are considered.
11885 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11889 An example directory mail source:
11892 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11897 Get mail from a POP server.
11903 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11904 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11907 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11908 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11909 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11910 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11911 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11914 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11918 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11922 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
11923 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11926 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11929 The valid format specifier characters are:
11933 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11934 included in this string.
11937 The name of the server.
11940 The port number of the server.
11943 The user name to use.
11946 The password to use.
11949 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11950 corresponding keywords.
11953 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11954 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11957 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11958 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11961 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11962 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11965 @item :authentication
11966 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11967 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11972 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11973 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11975 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11976 default user name, and default fetcher:
11982 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11985 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11986 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11989 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11992 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11996 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11997 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11998 contains exactly one mail.
12004 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12005 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12008 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12009 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12011 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12012 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12013 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12016 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12017 from locking problems).
12021 Two example maildir mail sources:
12024 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12025 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12029 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12034 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12035 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12036 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12037 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12044 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12045 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12048 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12049 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
12052 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12056 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12060 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12061 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12062 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12063 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12065 @item :authentication
12066 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12067 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12068 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12069 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12072 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12073 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12074 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12080 The valid format specifier characters are:
12084 The name of the server.
12087 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12090 The port number of the server.
12093 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12094 corresponding keywords.
12097 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12098 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12101 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12102 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12103 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12104 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12105 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12106 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
12109 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12110 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12111 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12112 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
12115 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12116 after finishing the fetch.
12120 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12123 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12125 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12129 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12130 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12132 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12135 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12136 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12138 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12144 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12145 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12148 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12152 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12156 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12157 folder after finishing the fetch.
12161 An example webmail source:
12164 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12166 :password "secret")
12171 @item Common Keywords
12172 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12178 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12179 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12183 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12188 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12189 useful when you use local mail and news.
12194 @subsubsection Function Interface
12196 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12197 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12198 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12199 consider the following mail-source setting:
12202 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12203 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12206 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12207 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12208 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12209 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12210 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12212 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12215 @node Mail Source Customization
12216 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12218 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12219 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12223 @item mail-source-crash-box
12224 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12225 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12226 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12228 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12229 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12230 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12232 @item mail-source-directory
12233 @vindex mail-source-directory
12234 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12235 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12236 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12239 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12240 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12241 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12242 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12243 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12244 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12246 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12247 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12248 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12250 @item mail-source-movemail-program
12251 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
12252 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
12253 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
12258 @node Fetching Mail
12259 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12261 @vindex mail-sources
12262 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12263 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12264 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12265 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12267 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12268 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12271 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12272 mail server, you'd say something like:
12277 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12278 :password "secret")))
12281 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12285 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12286 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12289 :password "secret")))
12293 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12294 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12295 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12296 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12297 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12298 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12302 @node Mail Back End Variables
12303 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12305 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12309 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12310 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12311 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12312 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12314 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12315 @item nnmail-split-hook
12316 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12317 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12318 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12319 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12320 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12321 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12322 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12323 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12324 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12327 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12328 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12329 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12330 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12331 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12332 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12333 starting to handle the new mail) and
12334 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12335 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12336 default file modes the new mail files get:
12339 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12340 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12342 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12343 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12346 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12347 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12348 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
12349 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12350 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
12351 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12352 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12354 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12355 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12356 @findex delete-file
12357 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12359 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12360 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12361 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12362 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12363 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12368 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12369 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12370 @cindex mail splitting
12371 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12373 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12374 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12375 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12376 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12377 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12378 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12380 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12383 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12384 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12385 ;; from real errors.
12386 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12388 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12389 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12390 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12391 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12392 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12393 ;; Other mailing lists...
12394 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12395 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12396 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12397 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12398 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12399 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12400 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12401 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12403 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12404 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12408 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12409 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12410 the five possible split syntaxes:
12415 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12416 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12420 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12421 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12422 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12423 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12424 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12425 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12426 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12427 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12430 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12431 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12432 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12433 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12436 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12437 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12440 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12441 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
12444 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12445 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12446 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12447 function should return a @var{split}.
12450 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12451 body of the messages:
12454 (defun split-on-body ()
12456 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12457 (goto-char (point-min))
12458 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12462 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12463 when the @code{:} function is run.
12466 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12467 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12468 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12472 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12476 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12477 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12478 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12479 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12480 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12482 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12483 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12484 are expanded as specified by the variable
12485 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12486 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12489 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12490 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12491 when all this splitting is performed.
12493 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12494 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12495 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12498 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12501 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12502 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12504 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12505 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12506 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12507 groupings 1 through 9.
12509 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12510 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12511 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12512 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12513 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12514 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12515 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12516 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12517 it once per thread.
12519 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
12520 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
12521 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
12524 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12525 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12526 ;; other splits go here
12530 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12531 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12532 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12533 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12534 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12535 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12536 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12537 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12538 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
12539 unless the group name matches the regexp
12540 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
12541 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
12542 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
12543 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
12544 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12545 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12546 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12547 messages goes into the new group.
12550 @node Group Mail Splitting
12551 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12552 @cindex mail splitting
12553 @cindex group mail splitting
12555 @findex gnus-group-split
12556 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12557 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12558 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12559 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12560 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12561 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12562 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12563 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12565 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12566 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12567 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12568 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12570 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12571 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12572 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12573 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12574 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12575 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12576 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12578 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12579 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12580 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12581 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12582 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12583 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12584 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12586 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12587 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12588 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12589 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12590 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12591 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12592 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12593 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12594 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12595 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12596 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12597 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12598 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12600 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12605 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12606 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12608 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12609 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12610 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12611 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12613 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12616 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12617 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12618 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12621 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12622 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12623 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12627 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12628 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12629 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12633 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12636 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12637 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12638 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12639 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12640 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12641 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12642 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12643 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12644 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12646 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12647 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12648 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12649 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12650 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12651 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12652 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12653 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12654 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12656 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12657 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12658 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12659 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12660 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12661 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12664 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12667 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12668 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12669 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12670 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12671 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12674 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12675 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12676 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12677 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12679 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12680 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12681 @cindex incorporating old mail
12682 @cindex import old mail
12684 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12685 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12686 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12689 Doing so can be quite easy.
12691 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12692 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12693 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12694 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12695 your @code{nnml} groups.
12701 Go to the group buffer.
12704 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12705 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12708 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12711 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12712 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12715 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12716 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12719 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12720 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12721 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12722 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12723 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12725 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12726 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12727 using the new mail back end.
12730 @node Expiring Mail
12731 @subsection Expiring Mail
12732 @cindex article expiry
12734 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12735 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12736 different approach to mail reading.
12738 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12739 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12740 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12741 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12742 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12743 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12746 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12747 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12748 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12749 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12750 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12751 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12752 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12753 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12755 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12756 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12757 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12758 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12759 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12760 column in the summary buffer.
12762 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12763 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12764 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12765 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12768 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12770 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12771 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12772 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12775 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12776 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12777 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12778 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12779 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12781 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12782 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12785 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12786 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12789 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12790 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12792 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12793 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12794 don't really mix very well.
12796 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12797 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12798 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12799 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12802 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12803 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12804 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12805 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12808 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12810 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12812 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12814 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12816 ((string= group "important")
12822 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12823 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12825 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12826 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12827 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12830 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12831 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12833 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12834 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12835 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12836 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12837 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12838 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12839 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12840 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12841 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12842 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12843 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12844 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12847 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12849 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12853 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12854 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12855 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12856 easier for procmail users.
12858 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12859 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12860 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12861 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12862 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12863 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12864 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12865 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12866 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12867 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12868 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12869 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12870 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12873 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12875 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12876 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12877 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12878 auto-expire turned on.
12882 @subsection Washing Mail
12883 @cindex mail washing
12884 @cindex list server brain damage
12885 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12887 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12888 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12889 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12890 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12891 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12892 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12894 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12895 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12896 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12899 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12900 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12901 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12902 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12905 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12906 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12907 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12908 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12909 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12912 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12913 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12914 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12915 Emacs running on MS machines.
12919 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12920 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12921 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12922 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12925 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12926 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12927 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12928 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12930 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12931 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12932 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12933 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12934 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12935 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12936 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12939 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12940 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12943 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12944 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12947 This can also be done non-destructively with
12948 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12950 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12951 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12952 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12954 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12955 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12957 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12958 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12959 @code{References} headers.
12963 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12964 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12965 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12969 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12970 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12971 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12978 @subsection Duplicates
12980 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12981 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12982 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12983 @cindex duplicate mails
12984 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12985 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12986 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12987 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12988 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12989 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12990 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12991 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12992 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12993 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12994 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12995 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12996 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12998 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12999 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13000 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13001 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13003 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13006 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13007 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13011 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13012 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13013 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13014 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13015 (any mail "mail.misc")
13022 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13023 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13028 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13029 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13030 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13031 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13032 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13035 @node Not Reading Mail
13036 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13038 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13039 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13040 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13042 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13043 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13044 mail, which should help.
13046 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13047 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13048 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13049 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13050 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13051 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13052 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13053 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13054 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13055 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13056 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13058 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13059 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13063 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13064 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13066 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13067 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13068 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13070 There are five different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13071 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13072 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
13073 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
13076 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13077 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13078 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13079 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13080 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13081 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13085 @node Unix Mail Box
13086 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13088 @cindex unix mail box
13090 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13091 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13092 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13093 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13094 which group it belongs in.
13096 Virtual server settings:
13099 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13100 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13101 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13104 @item nnmbox-active-file
13105 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13106 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13107 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13109 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13110 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13111 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13112 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13117 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13121 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13122 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13123 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13124 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13125 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13127 Virtual server settings:
13130 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13131 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13132 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13134 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13135 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13136 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13137 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13139 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13140 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13141 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13147 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13149 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13151 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13152 format. It should be used with some caution.
13154 @vindex nnml-directory
13155 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13156 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13157 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13158 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13160 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13163 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13164 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13165 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13166 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13167 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13168 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13169 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13170 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13172 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13173 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13174 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13175 back end when it comes to reading mail.
13177 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13178 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13179 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13180 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13181 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13182 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13183 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13184 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13185 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13188 Virtual server settings:
13191 @item nnml-directory
13192 @vindex nnml-directory
13193 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13194 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13197 @item nnml-active-file
13198 @vindex nnml-active-file
13199 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13200 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13202 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13203 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13204 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13205 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13207 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13208 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13209 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13212 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13213 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13214 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13215 default is @code{nil}.
13217 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13218 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13219 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13221 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13222 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13223 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13225 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13226 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13227 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13228 default is @code{nil}.
13230 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13231 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13232 The name of the @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13236 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13237 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13238 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13239 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13240 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13241 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13242 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13247 @subsubsection MH Spool
13249 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13251 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13252 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13253 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13254 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13256 Virtual server settings:
13259 @item nnmh-directory
13260 @vindex nnmh-directory
13261 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13262 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13265 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13266 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13267 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13271 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13272 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13273 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13274 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13275 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13276 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13277 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13282 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13284 @cindex mbox folders
13285 @cindex mail folders
13287 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13288 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13289 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13292 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13293 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
13294 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13295 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13296 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
13297 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
13298 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
13299 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
13300 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
13301 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
13302 @code{nnfolder} directory).
13304 Virtual server settings:
13307 @item nnfolder-directory
13308 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13309 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13310 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13313 @item nnfolder-active-file
13314 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13315 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13317 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13318 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13319 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13320 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13322 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13323 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13324 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13327 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13328 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13329 @cindex backup files
13330 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13331 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13332 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13333 your @file{.emacs} file:
13336 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13337 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13339 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13342 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13343 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13344 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13345 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13346 extract some information from it before removing it.
13348 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13349 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13350 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13351 default is @code{nil}.
13353 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13354 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13355 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
13357 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
13358 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
13359 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
13360 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13362 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13363 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13364 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13365 default is @code{nil}.
13367 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13368 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13369 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
13371 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
13372 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
13373 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
13374 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13379 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13380 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13381 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13382 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13383 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13384 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13387 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
13388 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
13390 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
13391 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13392 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13393 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
13394 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13396 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13397 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13398 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13399 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13400 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13401 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13402 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13403 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13406 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
13407 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13408 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13409 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13414 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13415 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13416 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13417 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13418 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13419 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13420 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13421 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13422 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13423 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13424 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13425 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13426 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13431 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13432 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13433 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13434 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13435 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13436 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13437 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13438 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13439 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13440 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13441 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13442 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13443 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13444 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13446 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13447 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13452 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
13453 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13454 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13455 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13456 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13457 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13458 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13459 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13460 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13461 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13462 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13463 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13464 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13465 provided by the active file and overviews.
13467 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13468 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13469 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13470 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13471 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13474 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
13475 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13480 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13481 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13482 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13483 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13484 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13485 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13486 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13490 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13491 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13492 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13493 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13494 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13495 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13496 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13497 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13498 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13500 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13501 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13502 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13503 friendly mail back end all over.
13508 @node Browsing the Web
13509 @section Browsing the Web
13511 @cindex browsing the web
13515 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13516 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13517 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13518 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13519 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13520 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13521 even know what a news group is.
13523 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13524 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13525 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13526 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13527 you mad in the end.
13529 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13532 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
13533 interfaces to these sources.
13536 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13537 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13538 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13539 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13540 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13541 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13544 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13546 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13547 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13548 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
13549 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
13550 though, you should be ok.
13552 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13553 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13554 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13555 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13556 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13558 @node Archiving Mail
13559 @subsection Archiving Mail
13560 @cindex archiving mail
13561 @cindex backup of mail
13563 Some of the back ends, notably nnml and nnfolder, now actually store
13564 the article marks with each group. For these servers, archiving and
13565 restoring a group while preserving marks is fairly simple.
13567 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
13568 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @code{.newsrc.eld} deity
13571 To archive an entire @code{nnml} or @code{nnfolder} server, take a
13572 recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need to shut down
13573 Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or similar. You
13574 restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and adding a server
13575 definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The @ref{Article
13576 Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things might interfer
13577 with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus before you
13580 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml} or
13581 @code{nnfolder} groups, while preserving marks. For @code{nnml}, you
13582 copy all files in the group's directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need
13583 to copy both the base folder file itself (@code{FOO}, say), and the
13584 marks file (@code{FOO.mrk} in this example). Restoring the group is
13585 done with @kbd{G m} from the Group buffer. The last step makes Gnus
13586 notice the new directory.
13589 @subsection Web Searches
13593 @cindex InReference
13594 @cindex Usenet searches
13595 @cindex searching the Usenet
13597 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13598 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13599 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13600 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13601 searches without having to use a browser.
13603 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13604 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13605 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13606 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13607 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13609 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13610 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13611 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13612 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13613 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13614 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13615 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13616 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13617 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13618 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13621 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13622 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13623 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13624 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13625 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13626 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13628 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13629 to use @code{nnweb}.
13631 Virtual server variables:
13636 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13637 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13641 @vindex nnweb-search
13642 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13644 @item nnweb-max-hits
13645 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13646 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13649 @item nnweb-type-definition
13650 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13651 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13652 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13657 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13661 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13664 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13667 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13671 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13678 @subsection Slashdot
13682 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13683 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13684 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13686 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13687 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13690 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13691 '((nnslashdot "")))
13694 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
13695 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13696 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13697 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13698 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13701 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13702 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13704 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13705 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13706 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13707 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13708 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13709 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13712 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13715 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13716 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13717 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13718 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13719 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13720 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13721 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13723 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13724 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13725 The login name to use when posting.
13727 @item nnslashdot-password
13728 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13729 The password to use when posting.
13731 @item nnslashdot-directory
13732 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13733 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
13734 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13736 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13737 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13738 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13739 news articles and comments. The default is
13740 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13742 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13743 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13744 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13746 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13748 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13749 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13750 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13752 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13754 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13755 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13756 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13758 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13759 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13760 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13761 updated. The default is 0.
13768 @subsection Ultimate
13770 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13772 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13773 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13774 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13775 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13777 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13778 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13779 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13780 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13781 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13782 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13783 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13785 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13788 @item nnultimate-directory
13789 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13790 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13791 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13796 @subsection Web Archive
13798 @cindex Web Archive
13800 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13801 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13802 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13803 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13806 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13807 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13808 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13809 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13810 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13811 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13812 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13814 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13817 @item nnwarchive-directory
13818 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13819 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13820 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13822 @item nnwarchive-login
13823 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13824 The account name on the web server.
13826 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13827 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13828 The password for your account on the web server.
13836 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
13837 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
13838 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13841 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
13842 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
13845 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
13848 @item nnrss-directory
13849 @vindex nnrss-directory
13850 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
13851 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
13855 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
13856 the summary buffer.
13859 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
13860 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
13862 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
13864 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
13865 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
13868 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
13871 (require 'browse-url)
13873 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
13875 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
13878 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
13879 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
13881 (browse-url (cdr url))
13882 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
13884 (eval-after-load "gnus"
13885 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
13886 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
13887 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
13890 @node Customizing w3
13891 @subsection Customizing w3
13897 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13898 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13899 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13901 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13902 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13903 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13906 (eval-after-load "w3"
13908 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13909 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13910 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13911 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13913 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13916 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13917 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13925 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13926 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
13927 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
13928 specify the network address of the server.
13930 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
13931 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
13932 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
13933 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
13934 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
13936 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
13937 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
13938 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
13939 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
13941 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
13942 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
13943 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
13944 usage explained in this section.
13946 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13947 might look something like this:
13950 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13951 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13952 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13954 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13955 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13956 ; a UW server running on localhost
13958 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13959 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13960 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13961 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13962 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13963 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13964 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13965 (nnimap-stream network))
13966 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
13968 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
13969 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
13970 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
13973 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13978 @item nnimap-address
13979 @vindex nnimap-address
13981 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13982 server name if not specified.
13984 @item nnimap-server-port
13985 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13986 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13988 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
13991 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13992 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
13995 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13996 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13997 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13998 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13999 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14000 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14001 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14003 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14004 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14005 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14008 Example server specification:
14011 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14012 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14013 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14016 @item nnimap-stream
14017 @vindex nnimap-stream
14018 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14019 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14020 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
14021 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
14023 Example server specification:
14026 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14027 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14030 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14034 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14035 @samp{imtest} program.
14037 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14039 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14040 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14043 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the
14044 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
14046 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14048 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14051 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14052 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14053 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14054 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14055 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14056 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14057 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14058 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14059 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14062 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14063 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14064 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14065 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14066 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14067 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14068 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14071 @vindex imap-shell-program
14072 @vindex imap-shell-host
14073 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14074 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14076 @item nnimap-authenticator
14077 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14079 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14080 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14082 Example server specification:
14085 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14086 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14089 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14093 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14094 external program @code{imtest}.
14096 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14099 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14100 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14102 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14104 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14106 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14109 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14111 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14112 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14113 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14114 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14115 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14116 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14119 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14120 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14121 running in circles yet?
14123 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14124 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14127 The possible options are:
14132 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14135 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14136 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14137 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14138 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14140 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14145 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14146 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14148 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14149 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14150 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14151 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14152 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14154 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14155 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14158 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14159 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14160 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14161 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14164 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14165 as ticked for other users.
14167 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14169 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14171 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14172 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14173 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14174 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14176 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14177 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14178 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14179 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14181 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14182 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14184 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14185 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14186 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14192 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14193 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14194 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14199 @node Splitting in IMAP
14200 @subsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14201 @cindex splitting imap mail
14203 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14204 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14205 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14206 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14207 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14211 Here are the variables of interest:
14215 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14216 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14218 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14220 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14221 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14223 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14225 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14226 @cindex splitting, inbox
14228 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14230 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14231 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14235 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14236 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14239 No nnmail equivalent.
14241 @item nnimap-split-rule
14242 @cindex Splitting, rules
14243 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14245 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14248 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14249 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14250 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14251 Neither did I, we need examples.
14254 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14256 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14257 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14258 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14261 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14262 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14263 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14265 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14266 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14270 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14273 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14274 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14275 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14276 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14278 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14279 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14280 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14281 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14282 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14283 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14285 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14286 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14287 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14289 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14290 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14291 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14293 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14295 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14296 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14297 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14300 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14301 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14302 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14303 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14304 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14305 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14308 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14309 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14310 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14311 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14312 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14313 group/function elements.
14315 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14317 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14319 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14321 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14322 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14324 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14325 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14326 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14329 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14330 @cindex splitting, fancy
14331 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14332 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14334 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14335 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14336 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14338 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14339 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14340 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14341 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14346 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14347 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14350 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14354 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14355 @subsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14356 @cindex editing imap acls
14357 @cindex Access Control Lists
14358 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14360 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14362 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14363 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14364 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14367 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14368 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14369 editing window with detailed instructions.
14371 Some possible uses:
14375 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14376 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14377 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14379 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14380 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14381 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14385 @node Expunging mailboxes
14386 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
14390 @cindex Manual expunging
14392 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14394 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14395 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14396 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14398 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14403 @node Other Sources
14404 @section Other Sources
14406 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
14407 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
14411 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
14412 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
14413 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
14414 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
14415 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
14419 @node Directory Groups
14420 @subsection Directory Groups
14422 @cindex directory groups
14424 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
14425 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
14428 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
14429 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
14430 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
14431 back end to read directories. Big deal.
14433 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
14434 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
14435 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
14436 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
14437 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
14439 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
14441 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
14442 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
14443 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
14444 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
14447 @node Anything Groups
14448 @subsection Anything Groups
14451 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
14452 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
14453 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
14456 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
14457 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
14458 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
14459 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
14460 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
14461 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
14462 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
14463 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
14464 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
14465 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
14468 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
14469 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
14470 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
14471 in the article buffer, just as usual.
14473 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
14474 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
14475 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
14476 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
14478 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
14479 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
14480 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
14481 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
14482 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
14483 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
14484 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
14485 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
14490 @item nneething-map-file-directory
14491 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
14492 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
14493 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
14495 @item nneething-exclude-files
14496 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
14497 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
14498 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
14500 @item nneething-include-files
14501 @vindex nneething-include-files
14502 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
14503 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
14505 @item nneething-map-file
14506 @vindex nneething-map-file
14507 Name of the map files.
14511 @node Document Groups
14512 @subsection Document Groups
14514 @cindex documentation group
14517 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
14518 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
14525 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
14530 The standard Unix mbox file.
14532 @cindex MMDF mail box
14534 The MMDF mail box format.
14537 Several news articles appended into a file.
14540 @cindex rnews batch files
14541 The rnews batch transport format.
14542 @cindex forwarded messages
14545 Forwarded articles.
14548 Netscape mail boxes.
14551 MIME multipart messages.
14553 @item standard-digest
14554 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
14557 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
14560 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
14561 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
14562 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
14565 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
14566 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
14567 group. And that's it.
14569 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
14570 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
14571 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
14572 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
14573 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
14574 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
14575 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
14576 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
14577 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
14578 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
14580 Virtual server variables:
14583 @item nndoc-article-type
14584 @vindex nndoc-article-type
14585 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
14586 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
14587 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
14588 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail},
14589 @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman} or @code{guess}.
14591 @item nndoc-post-type
14592 @vindex nndoc-post-type
14593 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
14594 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
14599 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
14603 @node Document Server Internals
14604 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
14606 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
14607 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
14608 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
14609 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
14611 First, here's an example document type definition:
14615 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
14616 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
14619 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
14620 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
14621 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
14622 types can be defined with very few settings:
14625 @item first-article
14626 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
14627 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
14630 @item article-begin
14631 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
14632 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
14634 @item head-begin-function
14635 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
14638 @item nndoc-head-begin
14639 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
14642 @item nndoc-head-end
14643 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
14644 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
14646 @item body-begin-function
14647 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
14651 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
14654 @item body-end-function
14655 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
14659 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
14662 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
14663 regexp will be totally ignored.
14667 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
14668 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
14669 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
14670 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
14671 something that's palatable for Gnus:
14674 @item prepare-body-function
14675 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
14676 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
14677 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
14679 @item article-transform-function
14680 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
14681 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
14682 body of the article.
14684 @item generate-head-function
14685 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
14686 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
14687 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
14688 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
14692 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
14697 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14698 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14699 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
14700 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
14701 (head-end . "^ ?$")
14702 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
14703 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
14704 (subtype digest guess))
14707 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
14708 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
14709 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
14710 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
14711 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
14713 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
14714 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
14715 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
14716 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
14717 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
14718 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
14719 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
14720 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
14721 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
14722 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
14730 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
14731 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
14732 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
14734 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
14735 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
14736 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
14739 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
14740 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
14741 that interested in doing things properly.
14743 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
14744 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
14747 First some terminology:
14752 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
14753 get news and/or mail from.
14756 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
14757 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
14760 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
14764 @item message packets
14765 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
14766 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
14767 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14769 @item response packets
14770 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
14771 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
14772 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14782 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
14783 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
14784 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
14785 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
14788 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
14791 You put the packet in your home directory.
14794 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
14795 the native or secondary server.
14798 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
14799 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
14802 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
14806 You transfer this packet to the server.
14809 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
14812 You then repeat until you die.
14816 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
14817 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
14820 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
14821 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
14822 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
14826 @node SOUP Commands
14827 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
14829 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
14833 @kindex G s b (Group)
14834 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
14835 Pack all unread articles in the current group
14836 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
14837 process/prefix convention.
14840 @kindex G s w (Group)
14841 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
14842 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
14845 @kindex G s s (Group)
14846 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
14847 Send all replies from the replies packet
14848 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
14851 @kindex G s p (Group)
14852 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
14853 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
14856 @kindex G s r (Group)
14857 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
14858 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
14861 @kindex O s (Summary)
14862 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
14863 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
14864 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
14865 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14870 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
14875 @item gnus-soup-directory
14876 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
14877 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
14878 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
14880 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
14881 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
14882 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
14883 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
14885 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
14886 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
14887 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
14888 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
14890 @item gnus-soup-packer
14891 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
14892 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14893 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
14895 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
14896 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
14897 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14898 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14900 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
14901 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
14902 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
14904 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14905 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14906 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
14907 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
14913 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
14916 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
14917 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
14918 you can read them at leisure.
14920 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
14924 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
14925 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
14926 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
14927 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
14929 @item nnsoup-directory
14930 @vindex nnsoup-directory
14931 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
14932 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
14934 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
14935 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
14936 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
14937 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
14939 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
14940 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
14941 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
14942 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
14943 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
14945 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
14946 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
14947 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
14948 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
14950 @item nnsoup-active-file
14951 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
14952 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
14953 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
14954 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
14955 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
14957 @item nnsoup-packer
14958 @vindex nnsoup-packer
14959 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
14960 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
14962 @item nnsoup-unpacker
14963 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
14964 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
14965 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14967 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
14968 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
14969 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
14972 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
14973 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
14974 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
14977 @item nnsoup-always-save
14978 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
14979 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
14985 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
14987 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
14988 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
14989 more for that to happen.
14991 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
14992 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
14993 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
14996 In specific, this is what it does:
14999 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15000 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15003 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15004 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15005 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15008 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15009 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15010 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15013 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15014 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15015 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15017 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15023 @item nngateway-address
15024 @vindex nngateway-address
15025 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15027 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15028 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15029 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15030 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15031 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15032 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15033 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15036 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15037 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15038 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15041 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15044 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15047 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15050 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15052 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15055 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15056 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15057 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15059 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15061 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15062 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15063 @code{nngateway-address}.
15068 (setq gnus-post-method
15070 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15071 (nngateway-header-transformation
15072 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15080 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15083 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15088 @node Combined Groups
15089 @section Combined Groups
15091 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15095 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15096 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15100 @node Virtual Groups
15101 @subsection Virtual Groups
15103 @cindex virtual groups
15104 @cindex merging groups
15106 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15109 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15110 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15111 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15113 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15114 regexp to match component groups.
15116 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15117 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15118 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
15119 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
15120 the virtual group.)
15122 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15123 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15126 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15129 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15130 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15132 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15133 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15134 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15135 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15138 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15141 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15142 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15143 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15145 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15146 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15147 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15148 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15149 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15151 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15152 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15153 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15155 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15156 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15157 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15158 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15159 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15160 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15161 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15162 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15163 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15164 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15165 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15167 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15168 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15169 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15170 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15171 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15172 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15173 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15175 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15176 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15180 @node Kibozed Groups
15181 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15185 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15186 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15187 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15188 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15190 @kindex G k (Group)
15191 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
15194 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
15195 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
15196 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
15197 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
15199 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
15200 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
15201 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
15203 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
15204 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
15205 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
15206 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
15207 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15208 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15209 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15210 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15212 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15213 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15214 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15215 Stranger things have happened.
15217 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15218 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15220 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15221 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15222 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15223 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15224 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15225 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15227 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15228 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15231 @node Gnus Unplugged
15232 @section Gnus Unplugged
15237 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15239 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15240 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15241 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15242 read news. Believe it or not.
15244 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15245 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15246 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15247 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15248 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15250 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15251 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15252 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15253 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15254 reading news on a machine.
15256 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15260 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15261 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15265 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15266 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15273 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15275 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15278 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15279 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15280 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15281 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15282 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15283 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15284 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15285 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15286 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15287 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15292 @subsection Agent Basics
15294 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15296 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15297 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15298 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15299 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15301 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15302 connected to the net continuously.
15304 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15305 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15307 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15312 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15313 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15314 already fetched while in this mode.
15317 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15318 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15319 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15320 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15321 Source Specifiers}).
15324 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15325 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15326 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15327 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15328 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15331 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15332 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15333 then you read the news offline.
15336 And then you go to step 2.
15339 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15345 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15346 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15347 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15348 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15349 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15350 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15353 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15360 @node Agent Categories
15361 @subsection Agent Categories
15363 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15364 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15365 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15366 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15367 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15368 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15369 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15371 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15372 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15373 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15374 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15375 managing categories.
15378 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15379 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15380 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15384 @node Category Syntax
15385 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15387 A category consists of two things.
15391 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15392 are eligible for downloading; and
15395 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15396 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15397 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15400 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15401 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15402 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15403 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15405 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15406 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15407 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15409 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15410 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15411 operators sprinkled in between.
15413 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15415 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15416 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15422 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15423 short (for some value of ``short'').
15425 Here's a more complex predicate:
15434 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15435 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15438 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15439 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15440 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15442 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15443 you want to do, you can write your own.
15447 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15448 lines; default 100.
15451 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15452 lines; default 200.
15455 True iff the article has a download score less than
15456 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15459 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15460 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15463 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15464 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15465 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15474 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15475 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15476 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15479 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15480 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15481 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15482 something along the lines of the following:
15485 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15486 "Say whether an article is old."
15487 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15488 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15491 with the predicate then defined as:
15494 (not my-article-old-p)
15497 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15498 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15499 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15500 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15503 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15504 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15505 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15508 and simply specify your predicate as:
15514 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15515 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15516 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15517 just don't give a damn.
15519 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15520 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15521 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15522 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15523 parameters like so:
15526 (agent-predicate . short)
15529 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15530 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15531 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15533 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15536 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15539 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15540 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15541 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15544 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15545 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15546 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15547 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15548 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15549 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15551 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15552 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15553 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15554 if it's to be specific to that group.
15556 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15563 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15564 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15570 Category specification
15574 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15580 Group Parameter specification
15583 (agent-score ("from"
15584 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15589 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15595 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15602 Category specification
15605 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15611 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15615 Group Parameter specification
15618 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15621 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15626 Use @code{normal} score files
15628 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15629 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15630 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15631 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15633 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15634 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15635 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15636 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15640 Category Specification
15647 Group Parameter specification
15650 (agent-score . file)
15655 @node Category Buffer
15656 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15658 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15659 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15660 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15662 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15666 @kindex q (Category)
15667 @findex gnus-category-exit
15668 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15671 @kindex k (Category)
15672 @findex gnus-category-kill
15673 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15676 @kindex c (Category)
15677 @findex gnus-category-copy
15678 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15681 @kindex a (Category)
15682 @findex gnus-category-add
15683 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15686 @kindex p (Category)
15687 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15688 Edit the predicate of the current category
15689 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15692 @kindex g (Category)
15693 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15694 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15695 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15698 @kindex s (Category)
15699 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15700 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15701 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15704 @kindex l (Category)
15705 @findex gnus-category-list
15706 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15710 @node Category Variables
15711 @subsubsection Category Variables
15714 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15715 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15716 Hook run in category buffers.
15718 @item gnus-category-line-format
15719 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15720 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15721 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15725 The name of the category.
15728 The number of groups in the category.
15731 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15732 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15733 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15735 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15736 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15737 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15739 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15740 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15741 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15743 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15744 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15745 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15748 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15749 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15750 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15756 @node Agent Commands
15757 @subsection Agent Commands
15759 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15760 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
15761 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15765 * Group Agent Commands::
15766 * Summary Agent Commands::
15767 * Server Agent Commands::
15770 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
15771 following incantation:
15773 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15775 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15780 @node Group Agent Commands
15781 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
15785 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
15786 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
15787 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
15788 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
15791 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
15792 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
15793 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
15796 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
15797 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
15798 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
15799 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
15802 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
15803 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
15804 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
15805 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
15808 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
15809 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
15810 Add the current group to an Agent category
15811 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
15812 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15815 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
15816 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
15817 Remove the current group from its category, if any
15818 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
15819 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15822 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
15823 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15824 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
15830 @node Summary Agent Commands
15831 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
15835 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
15836 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
15837 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
15840 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
15841 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
15842 Remove the downloading mark from the article
15843 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
15846 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
15847 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
15848 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
15851 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
15852 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
15853 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
15856 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
15857 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
15858 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
15859 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
15864 @node Server Agent Commands
15865 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
15869 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
15870 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15871 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15872 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15875 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15876 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15877 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15878 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15884 @subsection Agent Expiry
15886 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15887 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15888 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15889 @cindex Agent expiry
15890 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15893 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15894 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15895 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15896 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15897 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15898 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15900 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15901 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15902 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15903 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15904 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15907 @node Agent and IMAP
15908 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15910 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
15911 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
15912 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
15913 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
15915 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15916 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15917 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15918 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15920 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15921 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15922 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15923 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15924 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15926 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15927 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15928 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15929 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15930 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15931 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15933 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15934 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15935 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15936 in the group buffer by default.
15938 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15939 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
15944 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15947 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15951 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15952 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15953 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15954 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15955 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15956 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15957 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15958 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15961 @node Outgoing Messages
15962 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15964 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15965 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15966 after posting, and edit them at will.
15968 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15969 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15970 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15971 messages in the draft group.
15975 @node Agent Variables
15976 @subsection Agent Variables
15979 @item gnus-agent-directory
15980 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15981 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15982 @file{~/News/agent/}.
15984 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
15985 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
15986 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
15987 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
15988 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
15991 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15992 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15993 Hook run when connecting to the network.
15995 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15996 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15997 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16002 @node Example Setup
16003 @subsection Example Setup
16005 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16006 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16007 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16010 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16011 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16012 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16014 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16015 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16016 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16018 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16019 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16021 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16025 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16026 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16029 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16030 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16031 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16032 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16033 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16036 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16037 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16038 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16039 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16040 back all the killed groups.)
16042 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16043 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16044 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16047 @node Batching Agents
16048 @subsection Batching Agents
16050 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16051 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16052 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16056 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16060 @node Agent Caveats
16061 @subsection Agent Caveats
16063 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16064 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16068 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
16073 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
16074 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16080 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16081 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
16088 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16089 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16090 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16093 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16094 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16095 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16096 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16097 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16099 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16100 before generating the summary buffer.
16102 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16103 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16104 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16106 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16107 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16108 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16109 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16112 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16113 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16114 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16115 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16116 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16117 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16118 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16119 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16120 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16121 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16122 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16123 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16124 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16125 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16126 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16127 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16128 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16132 @node Summary Score Commands
16133 @section Summary Score Commands
16134 @cindex score commands
16136 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16137 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16138 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16139 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16140 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16142 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16143 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16144 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16145 score file the current one.
16147 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16152 @kindex V s (Summary)
16153 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16154 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
16157 @kindex V S (Summary)
16158 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
16159 Display the score of the current article
16160 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
16163 @kindex V t (Summary)
16164 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
16165 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
16166 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
16169 @kindex V R (Summary)
16170 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
16171 Run the current summary through the scoring process
16172 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
16173 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
16174 effect you're having.
16177 @kindex V c (Summary)
16178 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
16179 Make a different score file the current
16180 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
16183 @kindex V e (Summary)
16184 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
16185 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
16186 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
16190 @kindex V f (Summary)
16191 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
16192 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
16193 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
16196 @kindex V F (Summary)
16197 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16198 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
16199 after editing score files.
16202 @kindex V C (Summary)
16203 @findex gnus-score-customize
16204 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
16205 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16209 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16214 @kindex V m (Summary)
16215 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16216 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16217 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16220 @kindex V x (Summary)
16221 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16222 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16223 expunge all articles below this score
16224 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16227 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16228 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16231 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16232 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16236 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16237 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16239 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16240 keys are available:
16244 Score on the author name.
16247 Score on the subject line.
16250 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16253 Score on the @code{References} line.
16259 Score on the number of lines.
16262 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16265 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16266 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16267 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16276 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16282 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16283 what headers you are scoring on.
16295 Substring matching.
16298 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16327 Greater than number.
16332 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16333 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16334 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16338 Temporary score entry.
16341 Permanent score entry.
16344 Immediately scoring.
16349 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16350 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16351 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16352 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16354 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16355 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16356 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16357 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16358 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16360 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16361 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16362 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16363 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16364 current score file.
16366 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16367 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16368 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16371 @node Group Score Commands
16372 @section Group Score Commands
16373 @cindex group score commands
16375 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16380 @kindex W f (Group)
16381 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16382 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16383 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16384 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16388 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16390 @findex gnus-batch-score
16391 @cindex batch scoring
16393 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16397 @node Score Variables
16398 @section Score Variables
16399 @cindex score variables
16403 @item gnus-use-scoring
16404 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16405 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16406 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16408 @item gnus-kill-killed
16409 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16410 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16411 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16412 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16413 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16414 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16415 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16417 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16418 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16419 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16420 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16421 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16423 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16424 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16425 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16426 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16428 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16429 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16430 @cindex score cache
16431 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16432 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16433 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
16434 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16435 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16436 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16439 @item gnus-save-score
16440 @vindex gnus-save-score
16441 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16442 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16443 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16445 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16446 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16447 across group visits.
16449 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16450 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16451 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16452 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16453 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16454 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
16455 manually entered data.
16457 @item gnus-summary-default-score
16458 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
16459 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
16461 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
16462 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
16463 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
16464 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
16465 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
16466 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
16468 @item gnus-score-over-mark
16469 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
16470 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
16471 default. Default is @samp{+}.
16473 @item gnus-score-below-mark
16474 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
16475 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
16476 default. Default is @samp{-}.
16478 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16479 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16480 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
16481 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
16483 Predefined functions available are:
16486 @item gnus-score-find-single
16487 @findex gnus-score-find-single
16488 Only apply the group's own score file.
16490 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
16491 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16492 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16493 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16494 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16495 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16496 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16497 then a regexp match is done.
16499 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16500 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16502 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16503 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16504 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16505 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16507 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16508 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16509 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16510 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16511 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16515 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
16516 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
16517 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
16518 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
16519 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
16520 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
16521 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
16524 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16525 overall score file, you could use the value
16527 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16528 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16531 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16532 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16533 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16534 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16535 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16537 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16538 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16539 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16540 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16541 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16542 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16543 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16546 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16547 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16548 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16550 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16551 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16552 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16553 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16554 threading---according to the current value of
16555 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16556 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16557 simplified in this manner.
16562 @node Score File Format
16563 @section Score File Format
16564 @cindex score file format
16566 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16567 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16568 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16570 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16574 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16576 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16578 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16580 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16585 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16589 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16590 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16591 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16592 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16596 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16597 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16599 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16600 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16601 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16603 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16608 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16609 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16610 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16611 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16612 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16613 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16614 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16615 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16616 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16617 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16618 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16619 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16620 to articles that matches these score entries.
16622 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16623 score entry has one to four elements.
16627 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16628 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16632 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16633 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16634 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16635 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16636 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16637 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16640 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16641 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16642 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16643 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16644 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16647 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16648 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16649 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16650 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16653 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16654 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16655 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16656 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16657 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16658 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16659 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16660 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16661 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16662 instead, if you feel like.
16665 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16666 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16668 These predicates are true if
16671 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16674 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16675 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16682 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16683 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16684 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16685 it's not. I think.)
16687 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
16688 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16689 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16690 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16693 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16694 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16695 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16696 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16697 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
16698 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
16699 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
16703 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
16704 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
16705 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16706 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16707 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16708 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16709 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16710 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16713 @item Head, Body, All
16714 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16718 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16719 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16720 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16721 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16722 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16723 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16724 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16728 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16729 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16730 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16731 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16732 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16733 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16734 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16735 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16736 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16737 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16738 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16742 @cindex Score File Atoms
16744 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16745 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16748 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16749 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16751 @item mark-and-expunge
16752 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16753 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16756 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16757 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16758 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16759 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16760 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16763 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16764 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16767 @item exclude-files
16768 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16769 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
16773 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
16774 ignored when handling global score files.
16777 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
16778 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
16779 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
16780 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
16783 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
16784 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
16785 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
16786 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
16788 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
16792 (mark-and-expunge -100)
16795 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
16796 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
16797 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
16798 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
16799 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
16801 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
16802 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
16803 scoring rules exist.
16806 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
16807 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
16808 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
16809 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
16810 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
16811 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
16812 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16813 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
16814 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
16815 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
16816 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
16820 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
16821 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
16822 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
16823 file for a number of groups.
16826 @cindex local variables
16827 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
16828 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
16829 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
16830 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
16831 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
16835 @node Score File Editing
16836 @section Score File Editing
16838 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
16839 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
16840 with a mode for that.
16842 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
16843 additional commands:
16848 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
16849 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
16850 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
16851 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
16854 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
16855 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
16856 Insert the current date in numerical format
16857 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
16858 you were wondering.
16861 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
16862 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
16863 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
16864 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
16865 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
16870 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
16872 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
16873 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
16875 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16876 e} to begin editing score files.
16879 @node Adaptive Scoring
16880 @section Adaptive Scoring
16881 @cindex adaptive scoring
16883 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16884 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16885 stupidity, to be precise.
16887 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16888 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16889 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16890 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16891 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16892 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16893 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16894 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16895 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16897 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16898 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16899 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16900 might look something like this:
16903 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16904 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16905 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16906 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16907 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16908 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16909 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16910 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16911 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16912 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16913 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16914 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16917 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16918 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16919 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16920 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16921 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16922 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16925 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16926 will be applied to each article.
16928 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16929 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16930 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16931 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16933 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16934 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16935 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16936 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16938 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16939 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16940 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16941 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16943 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16944 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16945 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16946 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16947 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16948 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16950 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16951 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16952 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16953 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16954 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16955 aspirins afterwards.)
16957 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16958 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16959 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16961 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16962 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16963 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16965 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16966 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16967 let you use different rules in different groups.
16969 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16970 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16971 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16974 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16975 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16976 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16977 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16978 the length of the match is less than
16979 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16980 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16983 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16984 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
16985 headers. If you adapt on words, the
16986 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
16987 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
16990 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16991 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
16992 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
16993 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
16994 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
16997 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
16998 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
16999 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17000 score with 30 points.
17002 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17003 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17004 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17005 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17006 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17008 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17009 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17010 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17011 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17012 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17014 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17015 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17016 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17017 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17019 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17020 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17021 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17022 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17024 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17025 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17026 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17027 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17028 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17030 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17031 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17032 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17034 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17035 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17036 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17037 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17040 @node Home Score File
17041 @section Home Score File
17043 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17044 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17045 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17046 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17048 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17049 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17050 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17052 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17053 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17058 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17062 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17063 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17067 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17071 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17072 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17075 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17076 the home score file.
17079 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17082 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17087 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17090 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17091 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17094 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17095 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17097 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17099 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17100 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17103 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17104 Other functions include
17107 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17108 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17109 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17110 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17114 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17115 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17116 their own home score files:
17119 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17120 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17121 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17122 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17123 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17126 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17127 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
17128 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
17129 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
17130 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
17132 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
17133 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
17134 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
17135 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
17136 precedence over this variable.
17139 @node Followups To Yourself
17140 @section Followups To Yourself
17142 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
17143 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
17144 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
17145 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
17146 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
17147 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
17151 @item gnus-score-followup-article
17152 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
17153 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
17156 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
17157 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
17158 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
17162 @vindex message-sent-hook
17163 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
17164 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
17166 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
17170 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
17171 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
17175 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17176 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17179 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
17180 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
17185 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
17189 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
17190 is system-dependent.
17193 @node Scoring On Other Headers
17194 @section Scoring On Other Headers
17195 @cindex scoring on other headers
17197 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
17198 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
17199 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
17200 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
17201 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
17203 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
17204 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
17205 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
17206 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
17207 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17209 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17212 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17213 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17216 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17217 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17218 time if you have much mail.
17220 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17221 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17227 @section Scoring Tips
17228 @cindex scoring tips
17234 @cindex scoring crossposts
17235 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17236 the @code{Xref} header.
17238 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17241 @item Multiple crossposts
17242 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17243 more than, say, 3 groups:
17246 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17250 @item Matching on the body
17251 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17252 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17253 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17254 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17255 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17256 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17257 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17260 @item Marking as read
17261 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17262 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17263 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17267 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17269 @item Negated character classes
17270 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17271 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17272 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17276 @node Reverse Scoring
17277 @section Reverse Scoring
17278 @cindex reverse scoring
17280 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17281 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17282 like this in your score file:
17286 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17291 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17292 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17295 @node Global Score Files
17296 @section Global Score Files
17297 @cindex global score files
17299 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17300 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17301 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17303 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17304 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17305 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17307 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17308 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17309 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17310 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17311 files are applicable to which group.
17313 To use the score file
17314 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17315 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17319 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17320 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17321 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17324 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17326 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17327 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17328 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17329 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17331 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17332 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17334 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17335 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17336 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17337 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17338 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17339 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17341 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17347 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17349 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17351 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17353 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17354 lowered out of existence.
17356 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17357 articles completely.
17360 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17361 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17362 old articles for a long time.
17365 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17366 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17367 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17368 holding our breath yet?
17372 @section Kill Files
17375 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17376 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17377 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17379 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17380 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17381 files into score files.
17383 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17384 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17385 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17386 that isn't a very good idea.
17388 Normal kill files look like this:
17391 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17392 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17396 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17397 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17399 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17400 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17403 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17408 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17409 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17410 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17413 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17414 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17415 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17418 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17423 @kindex M-k (Group)
17424 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17425 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17428 @kindex M-K (Group)
17429 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17430 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17433 Kill file variables:
17436 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17437 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17438 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17439 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17440 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17441 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17442 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17444 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17445 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17446 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17447 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17450 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17451 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17452 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17453 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17454 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
17455 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
17456 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
17457 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
17458 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
17460 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17461 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17462 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
17467 @node Converting Kill Files
17468 @section Converting Kill Files
17470 @cindex converting kill files
17472 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
17473 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
17474 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
17477 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
17478 You can fetch it from
17479 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
17481 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
17482 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
17483 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
17491 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
17492 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
17493 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
17494 news articles generated every day.
17496 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
17497 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
17498 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
17499 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
17500 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
17501 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
17502 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
17503 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
17506 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
17507 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
17510 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
17511 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
17512 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
17513 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
17517 @node Using GroupLens
17518 @subsection Using GroupLens
17520 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
17522 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
17523 better bit in town at the moment.
17525 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
17529 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17530 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17531 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17532 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17534 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17535 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17536 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17537 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17539 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17540 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17541 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17545 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17546 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17547 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17548 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17549 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17550 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17553 @node Rating Articles
17554 @subsection Rating Articles
17556 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17557 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17558 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17559 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17562 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17567 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17568 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17569 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17572 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17573 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17574 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17575 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17576 threads in rec.humor.
17580 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17581 the score of the article you're reading.
17586 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17587 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17588 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17591 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17592 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17593 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17597 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17598 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17601 @node Displaying Predictions
17602 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17604 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17605 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17606 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17607 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17608 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17610 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17611 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17612 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17613 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17614 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17615 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17616 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17617 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17618 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17619 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17620 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17621 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17622 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17624 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17625 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17626 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17627 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17629 The following are valid values for that variable.
17632 @item prediction-spot
17633 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17636 @item confidence-interval
17637 A numeric confidence interval.
17639 @item prediction-bar
17640 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17642 @item confidence-bar
17643 Numerical confidence.
17645 @item confidence-spot
17646 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17648 @item prediction-num
17649 Plain-old numeric value.
17651 @item confidence-plus-minus
17652 Prediction +/- confidence.
17657 @node GroupLens Variables
17658 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17662 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17663 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17664 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17665 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
17668 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17669 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17672 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17673 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17675 @item grouplens-score-offset
17676 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17677 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17680 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17681 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17682 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17687 @node Advanced Scoring
17688 @section Advanced Scoring
17690 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17691 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17692 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17693 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17694 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17696 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
17700 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
17701 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
17702 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
17706 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
17707 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
17709 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
17710 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
17711 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
17712 non-@code{nil} value.
17714 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
17715 operator, and various match operators.
17722 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17723 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
17724 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
17729 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17730 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
17731 then this operator will return @code{false}.
17736 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
17737 logical negation of the value of its argument.
17741 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
17742 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
17743 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
17744 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
17745 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
17746 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17747 the ancestry you want to go.
17749 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17750 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17751 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17752 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17753 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17756 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17757 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17759 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17760 when he's talking about Gnus:
17764 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17765 ("subject" "Gnus"))
17771 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
17775 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17782 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
17783 really don't want to read what he's written:
17787 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17788 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
17792 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
17793 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
17794 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
17801 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
17802 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
17803 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
17804 ("body" "white.*socks"))
17808 The possibilities are endless.
17811 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
17812 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
17814 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
17815 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
17816 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
17817 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
17818 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
17819 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
17820 @samp{subject}) first.
17822 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
17823 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
17834 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
17835 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
17841 ("subject" "Gnus")))
17848 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
17849 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
17854 @section Score Decays
17855 @cindex score decays
17858 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
17859 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
17860 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
17861 use them in any sensible way.
17863 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
17864 @findex gnus-decay-score
17865 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
17866 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
17867 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
17868 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
17869 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
17870 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
17871 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
17872 definition of that function:
17875 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
17877 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
17878 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
17881 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
17883 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
17885 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
17888 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
17889 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
17890 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
17891 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
17895 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
17898 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
17901 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
17905 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
17906 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
17907 the new score, which should be an integer.
17909 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
17910 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
17915 @include message.texi
17916 @chapter Emacs MIME
17917 @include emacs-mime.texi
17925 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
17926 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
17927 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
17928 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
17929 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
17930 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
17931 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
17932 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
17933 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17934 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17935 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17936 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17937 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17938 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17939 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17940 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17941 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17942 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17946 @node Process/Prefix
17947 @section Process/Prefix
17948 @cindex process/prefix convention
17950 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17951 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17953 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17954 command to be performed on.
17958 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17959 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17960 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17961 with the current one.
17963 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17964 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17965 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17967 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17968 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17971 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17972 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17974 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17977 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17978 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17979 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17980 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17982 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17983 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17984 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17985 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17986 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17987 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17988 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17989 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17991 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
17992 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
17993 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
17994 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
17995 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
17999 @section Interactive
18000 @cindex interaction
18004 @item gnus-novice-user
18005 @vindex gnus-novice-user
18006 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
18007 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18008 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18009 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18012 @item gnus-expert-user
18013 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18014 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18015 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18016 matter how strange.
18018 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18019 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18020 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18021 is @code{t} by default.
18023 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18024 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18025 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18030 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18031 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18032 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18034 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18035 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18036 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18037 rule of 900 to the current article.
18039 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18040 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18041 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18042 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18043 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18044 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18045 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18047 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18048 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18049 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18050 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18051 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18052 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
18053 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
18054 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18055 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18057 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18058 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18059 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18061 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18065 @node Formatting Variables
18066 @section Formatting Variables
18067 @cindex formatting variables
18069 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18070 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18071 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18072 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18073 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18076 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18077 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18078 lots of percentages everywhere.
18081 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18082 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18083 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18084 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18085 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18086 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18087 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18088 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18091 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18092 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18093 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18094 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18095 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18096 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18097 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18098 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18100 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18101 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18103 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18104 @findex gnus-update-format
18105 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18106 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18107 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18108 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18112 @node Formatting Basics
18113 @subsection Formatting Basics
18115 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18116 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18117 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18119 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18120 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
18121 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
18122 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
18123 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
18126 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
18127 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
18128 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
18129 less than 4 characters wide.
18132 @node Mode Line Formatting
18133 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
18135 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
18136 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
18137 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
18138 with the following two differences:
18143 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
18146 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
18147 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
18148 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
18149 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
18150 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
18151 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
18152 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
18157 @node Advanced Formatting
18158 @subsection Advanced Formatting
18160 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
18161 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
18162 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
18163 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
18165 These are the valid modifiers:
18170 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
18174 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
18179 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
18182 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
18187 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
18190 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
18193 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
18196 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
18200 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
18201 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
18202 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
18203 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
18204 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
18205 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
18206 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
18208 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
18209 last operation, padding.
18211 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
18212 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
18213 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
18214 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
18215 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
18216 the look of your lines.
18217 @xref{Compilation}.
18220 @node User-Defined Specs
18221 @subsection User-Defined Specs
18223 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18224 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18225 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18226 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18227 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18228 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18229 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18230 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18231 should protect against that.
18233 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18234 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18235 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18236 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18240 @node Formatting Fonts
18241 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18243 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18244 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18245 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18246 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18249 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18250 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18251 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18252 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18253 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18254 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18256 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18257 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18258 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18259 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18260 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18261 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18262 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18263 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18265 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18268 ;; Create three face types.
18269 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18270 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18272 ;; We want the article count to be in
18273 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18274 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18275 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18277 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18278 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18280 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18281 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18282 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18285 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18286 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18288 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18289 mode-line variables.
18291 @node Positioning Point
18292 @subsection Positioning Point
18294 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18295 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18296 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18298 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18300 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18301 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18302 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18304 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18305 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18306 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18311 @subsection Tabulation
18313 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18314 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18315 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18316 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18318 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18319 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18321 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18322 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18323 This is the soft tabulator.
18325 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18326 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18327 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18330 @node Wide Characters
18331 @subsection Wide Characters
18333 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18334 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18335 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18337 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18338 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18339 these coutries, that's not true.
18341 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18342 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18343 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18344 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
18348 @node Window Layout
18349 @section Window Layout
18350 @cindex window layout
18352 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18354 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18355 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18356 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18357 @code{t} by default.
18359 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18360 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18362 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18363 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18364 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18367 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18368 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18369 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18373 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18374 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18375 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18376 possible names is listed below.
18378 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18379 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18382 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18386 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18387 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18388 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18389 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18390 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18391 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18392 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18393 size spec per split.
18395 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18396 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18397 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18398 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18399 present) gets focus.
18401 Here's a more complicated example:
18404 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18405 (summary 0.25 point)
18406 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18410 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18411 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18412 occupy, not a percentage.
18414 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18415 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18416 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18417 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18418 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18421 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18424 (article (horizontal 1.0
18429 (summary 0.25 point)
18434 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18435 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18437 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
18438 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
18439 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
18440 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
18441 the screen is to be given to this strip.
18443 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
18444 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
18445 lines from the splits.
18447 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
18451 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
18452 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
18453 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
18454 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
18455 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
18456 size = number | frame-params
18457 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
18460 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
18461 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
18462 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
18463 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
18465 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
18466 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
18467 @cindex window height
18468 @cindex window width
18469 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
18470 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
18471 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
18472 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
18473 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
18474 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
18476 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
18477 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
18478 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
18479 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
18481 @findex gnus-configure-frame
18482 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
18483 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
18484 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
18485 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
18486 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
18487 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
18488 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
18489 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
18490 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
18491 configuration list.
18494 (gnus-configure-frame
18498 (article 0.3 point))
18506 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
18507 @code{frame} split:
18510 (gnus-configure-frame
18513 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
18515 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
18516 (user-position . t)
18517 (left . -1) (top . 1))
18522 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
18523 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
18524 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
18525 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
18526 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
18527 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
18528 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
18529 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
18531 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
18532 be found in its default value.
18534 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
18535 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
18536 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
18540 (message (horizontal 1.0
18541 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
18543 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
18548 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
18549 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
18550 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
18555 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
18556 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
18557 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
18558 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
18559 (name . "Message"))
18560 (message 1.0 point))))
18563 @findex gnus-add-configuration
18564 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
18565 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
18566 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
18567 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
18570 (gnus-add-configuration
18571 '(article (vertical 1.0
18573 (summary .25 point)
18577 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
18578 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
18579 Gnus has been loaded.
18581 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
18582 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
18583 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
18584 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
18585 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
18587 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
18588 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
18589 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
18592 @subsection Example Window Configurations
18596 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
18597 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18612 (gnus-add-configuration
18615 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18617 (summary 0.16 point)
18620 (gnus-add-configuration
18623 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18624 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18630 @node Faces and Fonts
18631 @section Faces and Fonts
18636 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18637 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18638 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18643 @section Compilation
18644 @cindex compilation
18645 @cindex byte-compilation
18647 @findex gnus-compile
18649 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18650 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18651 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
18652 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
18653 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
18654 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18655 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18656 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18659 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18660 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18661 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18662 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
18663 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18666 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
18667 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
18668 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
18669 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
18670 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
18675 @section Mode Lines
18678 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18679 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18680 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18681 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18682 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18683 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18684 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18687 @cindex display-time
18689 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18690 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18691 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18692 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18693 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18694 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18695 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18696 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
18699 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
18701 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
18702 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
18704 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
18705 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
18706 (length display-time-string)))))
18709 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
18710 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
18711 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
18712 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
18713 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
18716 @node Highlighting and Menus
18717 @section Highlighting and Menus
18719 @cindex highlighting
18722 @vindex gnus-visual
18723 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
18724 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
18725 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
18728 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
18729 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
18732 @item group-highlight
18733 Do highlights in the group buffer.
18734 @item summary-highlight
18735 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
18736 @item article-highlight
18737 Do highlights in the article buffer.
18739 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
18741 Create menus in the group buffer.
18743 Create menus in the summary buffers.
18745 Create menus in the article buffer.
18747 Create menus in the browse buffer.
18749 Create menus in the server buffer.
18751 Create menus in the score buffers.
18753 Create menus in all buffers.
18756 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
18757 buffers, you could say something like:
18760 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
18763 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
18766 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
18769 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
18770 in all Gnus buffers.
18772 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
18775 @item gnus-mouse-face
18776 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
18777 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
18778 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
18782 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
18786 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
18787 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
18788 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
18790 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
18791 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
18792 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
18794 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
18795 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
18796 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
18798 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
18799 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
18800 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
18802 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
18803 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
18804 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
18806 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
18807 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
18808 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
18819 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
18820 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
18821 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
18822 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
18823 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
18827 @vindex gnus-carpal
18828 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
18829 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
18830 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
18835 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18836 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18837 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
18839 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
18840 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
18841 Face used on buttons.
18843 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
18844 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
18845 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
18847 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18848 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18849 Buttons in the group buffer.
18851 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18852 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18853 Buttons in the summary buffer.
18855 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18856 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18857 Buttons in the server buffer.
18859 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18860 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18861 Buttons in the browse buffer.
18864 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
18865 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
18866 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
18874 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
18875 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
18876 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
18877 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
18878 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
18880 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
18881 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
18882 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
18884 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
18885 been idle for thirty minutes:
18888 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
18891 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
18895 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
18898 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
18899 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
18900 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18902 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
18903 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
18904 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
18905 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18907 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
18908 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
18909 @var{idle} minutes.
18911 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
18912 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
18915 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
18916 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
18917 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
18919 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
18920 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
18921 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
18922 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
18924 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
18925 your @file{.gnus} file:
18927 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
18929 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
18932 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
18933 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
18934 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
18935 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
18936 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
18937 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
18938 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
18939 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
18940 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
18941 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
18942 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
18944 @findex gnus-demon-init
18945 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
18946 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
18947 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
18948 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
18949 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
18951 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
18952 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
18953 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
18962 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
18963 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
18965 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
18966 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
18967 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
18968 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
18971 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
18972 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
18973 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
18974 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
18976 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
18977 this will make spam disappear.
18979 There are some variables to customize, of course:
18982 @item gnus-use-nocem
18983 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
18984 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
18987 @item gnus-nocem-groups
18988 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
18989 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
18990 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
18991 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
18993 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
18994 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
18995 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
18996 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
18997 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
18998 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
19000 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
19001 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
19003 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
19004 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
19005 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
19006 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
19007 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
19008 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
19009 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
19010 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
19011 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
19012 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
19014 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
19015 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
19018 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19021 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19022 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19025 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19028 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19031 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19032 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19034 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19035 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19036 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19037 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19039 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19040 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19043 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19045 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19053 This might be dangerous, though.
19055 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19056 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19057 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19058 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19060 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19061 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19062 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19063 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19064 might then see old spam.
19066 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19067 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19068 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19069 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19070 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19073 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19074 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19075 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19076 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19080 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19081 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19082 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19083 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19090 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19091 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19092 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19094 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19095 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19096 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19097 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19098 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19099 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19100 @code{undo} function.
19102 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19103 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19104 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19105 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19106 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19107 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19108 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19109 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19110 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19111 never be totally undoable.
19113 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19114 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19116 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19117 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19118 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
19119 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
19124 @section Moderation
19127 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
19128 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
19129 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
19132 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
19136 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
19139 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19141 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
19146 You split your incoming mail by matching on
19147 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
19148 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
19151 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
19152 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
19155 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
19156 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
19160 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
19163 (setq gnus-moderated-list
19164 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
19168 @node XEmacs Enhancements
19169 @section XEmacs Enhancements
19172 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
19176 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
19177 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
19178 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
19179 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
19192 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
19193 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
19194 over your shoulder as you read news.
19197 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
19198 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
19199 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
19200 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
19201 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
19206 @subsubsection Picon Basics
19208 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
19217 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
19218 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
19219 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
19220 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
19221 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
19222 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
19223 @code{GIF} formats.
19226 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19227 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
19228 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
19229 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
19230 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19232 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19233 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19234 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19235 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19236 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19237 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19240 @node Picon Requirements
19241 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19243 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
19244 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
19245 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
19246 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19248 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19249 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19250 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19251 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19252 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19256 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19258 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19259 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19262 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19263 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19266 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19267 containing the Picons databases.
19269 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19272 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19273 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19278 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19286 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19287 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19288 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19289 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19290 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19295 @item gnus-picons-database
19296 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19297 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19298 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19299 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19300 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19301 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19303 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19304 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19305 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19306 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19307 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19308 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19309 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19311 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19312 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19313 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19314 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19315 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19316 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19317 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19318 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19320 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19321 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19322 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19327 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19328 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19330 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19331 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19334 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19336 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19337 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19338 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19339 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19341 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19342 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19343 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19349 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19350 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19358 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19359 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19360 don't need to worry about.
19364 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19365 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19366 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19367 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19369 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19370 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19371 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19372 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19374 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19375 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19376 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19377 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19378 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19380 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19381 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19382 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19383 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19384 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19385 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19386 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19388 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19389 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19390 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19391 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19393 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19394 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19395 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19396 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19397 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19398 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19399 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19401 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19402 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19403 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19404 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19406 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19407 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19408 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19409 Defaults to @code{t}.
19411 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19412 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19413 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
19414 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
19416 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
19417 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
19418 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
19420 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19421 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19422 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
19423 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
19425 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
19426 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
19428 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19429 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19430 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
19431 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
19432 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
19433 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
19434 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
19435 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
19446 @subsection Smileys
19451 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
19456 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
19457 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
19459 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
19460 @file{.gnus.el} file:
19463 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
19466 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
19467 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
19468 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
19469 text and maps that to file names.
19471 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
19472 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
19473 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
19474 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
19475 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
19476 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
19478 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
19479 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
19481 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
19482 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
19483 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
19485 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
19486 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
19490 @item smiley-data-directory
19491 @vindex smiley-data-directory
19492 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
19494 @item smiley-flesh-color
19495 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
19496 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
19498 @item smiley-features-color
19499 @vindex smiley-features-color
19500 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19502 @item smiley-tongue-color
19503 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
19504 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
19506 @item smiley-circle-color
19507 @vindex smiley-circle-color
19508 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19510 @item smiley-mouse-face
19511 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
19512 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
19518 @subsection Toolbar
19528 @item gnus-use-toolbar
19529 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
19530 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
19531 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
19532 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
19534 @item gnus-group-toolbar
19535 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
19536 The toolbar in the group buffer.
19538 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
19539 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
19540 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
19542 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19543 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19544 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
19550 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
19553 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19554 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19555 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
19556 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
19557 unusual directory structure.
19559 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19560 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19561 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
19562 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
19564 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19565 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19566 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
19567 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
19568 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
19569 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
19571 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19572 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19573 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
19587 @node Fuzzy Matching
19588 @section Fuzzy Matching
19589 @cindex fuzzy matching
19591 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
19592 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
19594 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
19595 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
19596 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
19598 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
19599 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
19600 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
19601 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
19602 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19605 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19606 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19610 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19612 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19613 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19614 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19615 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19616 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19617 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19618 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19619 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19622 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19623 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19624 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19625 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19626 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19627 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19631 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19632 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19634 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19635 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19636 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19637 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19638 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19639 part of the mail address.)
19642 (setq message-default-news-headers
19643 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19646 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19647 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19652 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19653 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19654 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19660 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19661 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19662 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19663 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19665 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19666 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19667 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19668 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19669 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19670 your fancy split rule in this way:
19675 (to "larsi" "misc")
19679 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19680 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19681 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19682 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19683 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19685 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19686 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19687 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19688 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19689 cosmic balance somewhat.
19691 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19692 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19693 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19694 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
19697 @node Various Various
19698 @section Various Various
19704 @item gnus-home-directory
19705 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
19706 defaults to @file{~/}.
19708 @item gnus-directory
19709 @vindex gnus-directory
19710 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
19711 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
19712 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
19714 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
19715 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
19716 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
19717 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
19719 @item gnus-default-directory
19720 @vindex gnus-default-directory
19721 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
19722 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
19723 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
19724 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
19725 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
19726 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
19729 @vindex gnus-verbose
19730 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
19731 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
19732 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
19733 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
19734 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
19736 @item gnus-verbose-backends
19737 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
19738 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
19739 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
19741 @item nnheader-max-head-length
19742 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
19743 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
19744 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
19745 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
19746 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
19747 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
19748 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
19749 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
19750 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
19752 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
19753 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
19754 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
19755 read when doing the operation described above.
19757 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19758 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19760 @cindex invalid characters in file names
19761 @cindex characters in file names
19762 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
19763 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
19764 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
19767 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19771 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
19772 Windows (phooey) systems.
19774 @item gnus-hidden-properties
19775 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
19776 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
19777 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
19778 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
19780 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
19781 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
19782 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
19783 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
19784 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
19786 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
19787 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
19788 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
19790 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19791 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19793 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
19794 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
19795 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
19796 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
19799 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
19807 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
19808 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
19810 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
19812 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
19818 Not because of victories @*
19821 but for the common sunshine,@*
19823 the largess of the spring.
19827 but for the day's work done@*
19828 as well as I was able;@*
19829 not for a seat upon the dais@*
19830 but at the common table.@*
19835 @chapter Appendices
19838 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
19839 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
19840 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
19841 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
19842 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
19843 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
19844 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
19845 * Frequently Asked Questions::
19853 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
19854 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
19856 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
19857 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
19858 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
19859 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
19860 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
19862 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
19863 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
19864 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
19865 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
19866 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
19867 appropriate name, don't you think?)
19869 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
19870 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
19871 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
19872 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
19875 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
19876 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
19877 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
19878 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
19879 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
19880 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
19881 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
19882 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
19883 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
19887 @node Gnus Versions
19888 @subsection Gnus Versions
19889 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
19891 @cindex September Gnus
19892 @cindex Quassia Gnus
19894 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
19895 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
19896 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
19898 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
19899 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
19901 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
19902 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
19904 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
19905 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
19907 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
19908 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
19911 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
19913 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
19914 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
19915 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
19916 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
19917 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
19918 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
19921 @node Other Gnus Versions
19922 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
19925 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
19926 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
19927 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
19928 @sc{mime} capabilities.
19930 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
19931 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
19932 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
19933 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
19940 What's the point of Gnus?
19942 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
19943 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
19944 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
19945 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
19946 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
19947 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
19948 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
19949 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
19950 keep track of millions of people who post?
19952 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
19953 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
19954 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
19955 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
19956 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
19957 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
19958 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
19959 every one of you to explore and invent.
19961 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
19962 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
19965 @node Compatibility
19966 @subsection Compatibility
19968 @cindex compatibility
19969 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
19970 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
19971 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
19976 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
19980 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
19983 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
19986 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
19987 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
19988 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
19989 important variables have their values copied into their global
19990 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
19991 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
19993 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
19994 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
19995 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
19996 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
19997 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
20001 @cindex highlighting
20002 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
20003 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
20004 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
20005 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
20006 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
20007 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
20010 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
20011 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
20012 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
20013 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
20015 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
20016 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
20017 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
20018 to stop doing it the old way.
20020 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
20022 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20024 @cindex reporting bugs
20026 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
20027 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
20028 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
20030 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
20031 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
20032 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
20033 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
20038 @subsection Conformity
20040 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
20041 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
20048 There are no known breaches of this standard.
20052 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
20054 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
20055 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
20056 We do have some breaches to this one.
20062 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
20063 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
20064 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
20065 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
20066 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
20071 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
20072 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
20073 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
20074 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
20078 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
20079 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
20084 @subsection Emacsen
20090 Gnus should work on :
20098 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
20102 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
20103 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
20104 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
20105 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
20106 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
20108 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
20109 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
20110 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
20114 @node Gnus Development
20115 @subsection Gnus Development
20117 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
20118 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
20119 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
20120 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
20121 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
20122 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
20123 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
20124 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
20126 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
20127 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
20128 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
20129 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
20130 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
20133 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
20134 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
20135 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
20136 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
20137 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
20139 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
20140 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
20141 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
20142 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
20143 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
20144 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
20145 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
20146 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
20147 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
20148 can't be assumed to do so.
20153 @subsection Contributors
20154 @cindex contributors
20156 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
20157 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
20158 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
20159 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
20160 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
20161 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
20162 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
20163 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
20164 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
20165 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
20167 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
20173 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
20176 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
20177 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
20178 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
20179 functionality and stuff.
20182 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
20183 well as numerous other things).
20186 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
20189 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
20192 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
20195 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
20198 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
20199 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
20202 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
20205 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
20206 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20209 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
20212 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
20215 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
20218 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
20221 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
20222 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
20225 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
20228 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
20231 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20234 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20238 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20241 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20244 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20247 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20248 well as autoconf support.
20252 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20253 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20255 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20264 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20268 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20278 Alexei V. Barantsev,
20293 Massimo Campostrini,
20298 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
20299 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
20303 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
20306 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
20312 Michael Welsh Duggan,
20317 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
20321 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
20329 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
20331 Michelangelo Grigni,
20335 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
20337 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
20339 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
20346 François Felix Ingrand,
20347 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
20348 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
20350 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
20361 Peter Skov Knudsen,
20362 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
20364 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
20365 Thor Kristoffersen,
20368 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
20386 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
20387 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
20394 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
20399 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
20403 John McClary Prevost,
20409 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
20414 Christian von Roques,
20417 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
20424 Philippe Schnoebelen,
20426 Randal L. Schwartz,
20440 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
20445 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
20461 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
20466 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
20467 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
20468 (550kB and counting).
20470 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
20473 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
20474 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
20478 @subsection New Features
20479 @cindex new features
20482 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
20483 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
20484 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
20485 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
20486 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
20489 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
20490 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
20491 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
20494 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
20496 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
20501 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
20502 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
20505 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
20506 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
20509 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
20512 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
20513 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
20514 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
20517 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
20518 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
20519 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
20520 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20523 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
20524 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20527 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
20528 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
20529 (@pxref{The Active File}).
20532 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
20533 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
20536 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
20537 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
20538 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20541 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
20542 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
20543 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
20546 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
20547 the @file{.emacs} file.
20550 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
20551 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20554 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
20555 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
20558 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
20559 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20562 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
20563 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
20566 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
20567 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20570 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
20573 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
20574 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
20577 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
20578 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
20581 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
20582 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
20585 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
20588 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
20589 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20592 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
20596 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
20600 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
20601 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
20604 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20610 @node September Gnus
20611 @subsubsection September Gnus
20615 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
20619 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20624 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20625 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20629 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20630 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20634 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20638 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20639 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20642 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20646 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20649 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20652 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20655 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20659 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20660 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20663 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20667 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20671 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20675 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20679 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20682 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20683 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20686 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20690 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20691 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20694 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
20697 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
20698 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
20699 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20702 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
20706 The Gnus cache is much faster.
20709 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
20713 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
20714 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20717 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
20718 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
20721 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
20722 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20725 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
20726 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
20727 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
20730 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
20731 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
20734 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
20737 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20740 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
20743 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
20746 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
20747 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
20750 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
20754 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
20757 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
20762 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
20765 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
20769 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20772 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
20776 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
20779 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
20782 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
20783 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20786 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
20787 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
20791 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
20792 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
20795 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
20799 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
20800 buffer to allow easier treatment.
20803 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
20806 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
20810 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
20814 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
20815 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
20818 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
20822 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
20823 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20826 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
20827 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20830 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
20834 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20837 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
20840 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
20846 @subsubsection Red Gnus
20848 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
20852 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
20859 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
20862 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
20863 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20866 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
20867 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
20871 Article washing status can be displayed in the
20872 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
20875 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
20878 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
20879 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
20882 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
20886 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
20887 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
20891 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
20892 Server Internals}).
20895 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
20899 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
20902 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
20903 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
20906 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
20907 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
20908 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
20911 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
20912 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20915 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
20916 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
20919 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
20923 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
20924 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20927 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
20928 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20931 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
20935 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
20938 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
20942 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
20943 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20946 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
20947 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20950 A new command for reading collections of documents
20951 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
20952 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
20955 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
20959 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
20960 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
20963 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
20964 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
20965 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
20968 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
20969 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
20973 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
20977 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
20981 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
20986 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
20990 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
20994 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
20995 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
20998 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
21004 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
21006 New features in Gnus 5.6:
21011 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
21012 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
21013 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
21016 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
21017 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
21018 group, which is created automatically.
21021 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
21025 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
21028 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
21029 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
21032 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
21036 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
21039 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
21040 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
21043 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
21046 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
21047 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
21050 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
21051 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
21054 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
21055 control over simplification.
21058 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
21061 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
21065 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
21068 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
21071 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
21072 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
21073 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
21076 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
21077 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
21080 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
21084 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
21085 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
21088 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
21089 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
21092 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
21096 A history of where mails have been split is available.
21099 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
21102 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
21103 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
21106 A new function for citing in Message has been
21107 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
21110 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
21113 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
21117 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
21118 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
21121 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
21122 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
21125 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
21128 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
21132 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
21133 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
21135 New features in Gnus 5.8:
21140 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
21141 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
21143 If you used procmail like in
21146 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
21147 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
21148 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
21149 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
21152 this now has changed to
21156 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
21160 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
21161 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
21164 Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
21165 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
21168 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
21169 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
21172 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
21173 called to position point.
21176 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
21177 summary buffers and NOV files.
21180 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
21181 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
21184 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
21185 subtly different manner.
21188 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
21189 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
21190 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
21193 Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
21201 @section The Manual
21205 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21206 either @code{texi2dvi}
21208 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21209 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21211 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21213 The following conventions have been used:
21218 This is a @samp{string}
21221 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21224 This is a @file{file}
21227 This is a @code{symbol}
21231 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21235 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21238 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21241 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21244 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21245 ever get them confused.
21249 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21250 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21251 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21252 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21253 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21254 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21255 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21261 @node On Writing Manuals
21262 @section On Writing Manuals
21264 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21265 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21266 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21267 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21268 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21269 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21272 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21273 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21274 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21277 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21278 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21283 @section Terminology
21285 @cindex terminology
21290 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21291 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21292 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21293 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21294 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21298 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21299 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21300 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21301 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21305 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21309 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21314 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
21315 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21316 is all done by the back ends.
21320 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
21321 default, way of getting news.
21325 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21326 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
21331 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21332 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21336 A message that has been posted as news.
21339 @cindex mail message
21340 A message that has been mailed.
21344 A mail message or news article
21348 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21353 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21358 A line from the head of an article.
21362 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21363 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21367 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
21368 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21369 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21370 normal @sc{head} format.
21374 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21375 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21376 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21377 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21378 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21379 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21381 @item killed groups
21382 @cindex killed groups
21383 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21384 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21386 @item zombie groups
21387 @cindex zombie groups
21388 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21391 @cindex active file
21392 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21393 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21394 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21397 @cindex bogus groups
21398 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21399 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21400 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21403 @cindex activating groups
21404 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21405 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21406 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21410 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21412 @item select method
21413 @cindex select method
21414 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
21417 @item virtual server
21418 @cindex virtual server
21419 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21420 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21421 whole is a virtual server.
21425 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21426 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21429 @item ephemeral groups
21430 @cindex ephemeral groups
21431 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21432 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21433 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21436 @cindex solid groups
21437 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21438 group buffer are solid groups.
21440 @item sparse articles
21441 @cindex sparse articles
21442 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21443 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21447 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21448 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21452 @cindex thread root
21453 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21454 articles in the thread.
21458 An article that has responses.
21462 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21466 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21467 specified by RFC 1153.
21473 @node Customization
21474 @section Customization
21475 @cindex general customization
21477 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21478 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21479 for some quite common situations.
21482 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21483 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21484 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21485 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21489 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21490 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21492 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21493 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21494 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21498 @item gnus-read-active-file
21499 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21500 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21501 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21502 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21503 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21505 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21506 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21507 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21508 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21512 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21513 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21515 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21516 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21517 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21521 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21522 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21523 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21524 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21525 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21527 @item gnus-visible-headers
21528 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21529 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21530 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21531 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21533 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21535 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21536 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21537 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21540 @item gnus-use-full-window
21541 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21542 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21543 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21544 want to read them anyway.
21546 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21547 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21550 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21551 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21552 lines, which might save some time.
21556 @node Little Disk Space
21557 @subsection Little Disk Space
21560 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21561 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21565 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21566 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21567 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21568 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21571 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21572 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21573 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21574 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21577 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21578 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21579 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21580 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21581 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21587 @subsection Slow Machine
21588 @cindex slow machine
21590 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21591 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21593 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21594 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21596 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21597 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21598 summary buffer faster.
21602 @node Troubleshooting
21603 @section Troubleshooting
21604 @cindex troubleshooting
21606 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21614 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21617 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21618 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21622 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21623 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
21624 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
21625 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
21626 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21629 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21633 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21634 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21635 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21636 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21637 something like that.
21640 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21643 @cindex reporting bugs
21645 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21647 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21648 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21649 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21650 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21652 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21653 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21654 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21655 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21658 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21659 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21660 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21661 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21662 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21663 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21665 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21666 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21667 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21671 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
21672 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
21674 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21675 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21677 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21678 @cindex ding mailing list
21679 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21680 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21684 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21685 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21687 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21688 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21689 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21690 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21693 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21694 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21695 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21696 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21697 and general methods of operation.
21700 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21701 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21702 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21703 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21704 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21705 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21706 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21707 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21708 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21712 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21713 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21714 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21715 @cindex utility functions
21717 @cindex internal variables
21719 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21720 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21721 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21725 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21726 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21727 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21729 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21730 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21731 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21733 @item gnus-group-real-name
21734 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21735 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21738 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21739 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21740 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21741 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21743 @item gnus-get-info
21744 @findex gnus-get-info
21745 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21747 @item gnus-group-unread
21748 @findex gnus-group-unread
21749 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21753 @findex gnus-active
21754 The active entry for @var{group}.
21756 @item gnus-set-active
21757 @findex gnus-set-active
21758 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21760 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21761 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21762 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21765 @item gnus-continuum-version
21766 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21767 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21768 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21771 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21772 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21773 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21775 @item gnus-news-group-p
21776 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21777 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
21779 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21780 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21781 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21783 @item gnus-server-to-method
21784 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21785 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21787 @item gnus-server-equal
21788 @findex gnus-server-equal
21789 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21791 @item gnus-group-native-p
21792 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21793 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21795 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21796 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21797 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21799 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21800 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21801 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21803 @item group-group-find-parameter
21804 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21805 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21806 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21808 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21809 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21810 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21812 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21813 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21814 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21816 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21817 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21818 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
21819 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21822 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21826 @item gnus-read-method
21827 @findex gnus-read-method
21828 Prompts the user for a select method.
21833 @node Back End Interface
21834 @subsection Back End Interface
21836 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21837 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21838 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
21839 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21840 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21841 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21843 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
21844 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21845 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
21846 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21847 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21848 been opened, the function should fail.
21850 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21851 name. Take this example:
21855 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21856 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21859 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21860 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21862 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21863 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21864 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21866 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21867 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21868 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21870 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21871 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21872 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21873 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21874 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21875 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21878 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
21879 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
21880 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21881 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21884 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
21885 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
21886 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
21887 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
21888 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
21889 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
21890 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
21891 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
21892 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
21893 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
21895 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
21896 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
21897 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
21898 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
21899 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
21900 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
21901 of numbers as long as possible.
21903 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
21906 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21909 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21910 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21911 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21912 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
21913 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21914 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
21918 @node Required Back End Functions
21919 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
21923 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21925 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21926 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
21927 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
21928 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21930 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21931 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21932 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21933 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21935 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21936 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21937 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21938 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21939 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
21940 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21941 number, do maximum fetches.
21943 Here's an example HEAD:
21946 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21947 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21948 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21949 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21950 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21951 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21952 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21954 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21955 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21956 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21960 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21961 these in the data buffer.
21963 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21967 head = error / valid-head
21968 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21969 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21970 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21971 header = <text> eol
21974 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21975 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21979 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21980 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21981 field = <text except TAB>
21984 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21988 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21990 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21991 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21993 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
21994 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21995 server. In fact, it should do so.
21997 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21998 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22001 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22003 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22004 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22007 There should be no data returned.
22010 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22012 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
22013 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
22014 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22015 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22017 There should be no data returned.
22020 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22022 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22023 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22024 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22025 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22027 There should be no data returned.
22030 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22032 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22034 There should be no data returned.
22037 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22039 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22040 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22041 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22042 it would be nice if that were possible.
22044 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22045 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22046 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22047 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22048 into its article buffer.
22050 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22051 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22052 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22053 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22054 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22055 on successful article retrieval.
22058 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22060 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22061 making @var{group} the current group.
22063 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22066 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22069 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22072 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22073 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22074 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22075 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22076 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22077 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22078 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22079 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22082 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22083 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22084 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22088 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22090 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22091 a no-op on most back ends.
22093 There should be no data returned.
22096 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22098 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22101 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22104 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22105 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22108 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22109 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22112 active-file = *active-line
22113 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22115 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22118 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22119 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22120 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22123 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22125 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22126 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22127 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22128 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22129 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22130 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22132 There should be no result data from this function.
22137 @node Optional Back End Functions
22138 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
22142 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22144 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22145 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22146 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22148 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22149 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22150 former is in the same format as the data from
22151 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22152 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22155 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22159 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22161 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
22162 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
22163 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22164 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22165 should return the (altered) group info.
22167 There should be no result data from this function.
22170 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22172 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22173 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22174 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22175 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22176 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22177 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22178 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22179 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22181 There should be no result data from this function.
22184 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22186 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22187 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22188 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22189 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22190 propagate the mark information to the server.
22192 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22195 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22198 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
22199 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
22200 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
22201 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
22202 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
22203 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
22204 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
22205 possible, not limit itself to these.
22207 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22208 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22209 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22210 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22212 An example action list:
22215 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22216 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22217 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22220 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22221 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22223 There should be no result data from this function.
22225 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22227 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
22228 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22229 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22230 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
22231 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22233 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22234 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22235 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22238 There should be no result data from this function.
22241 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22243 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22244 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
22245 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
22246 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22247 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
22248 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22249 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22251 There should be no result data from this function.
22254 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22256 The result data from this function should be a description of
22260 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22262 description = <text>
22265 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22267 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22268 groups available on the server.
22271 description-buffer = *description-line
22275 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22277 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22278 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
22279 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
22280 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
22281 in the active buffer format.
22283 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
22284 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
22285 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
22286 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
22287 many groups, so nnml and the like are probably safe. But for back ends
22288 like nntp, where the groups have been created by the server, it is quite
22289 likely that there can be many groups.
22292 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22294 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22296 There should be no return data.
22299 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22301 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22302 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22303 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
22304 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22305 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22308 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22311 There should be no result data returned.
22314 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22317 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22318 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22320 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22321 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22322 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22323 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22324 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22325 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22327 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22328 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22331 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22332 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22334 There should be no data returned.
22337 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22339 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22340 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22341 this function in short order.
22343 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22344 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22346 There should be no data returned.
22349 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22351 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22352 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22354 There should be no data returned.
22357 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22359 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22360 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22361 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22363 There should be no data returned.
22366 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22368 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22369 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22371 There should be no data returned.
22376 @node Error Messaging
22377 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22379 @findex nnheader-report
22380 @findex nnheader-get-report
22381 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22382 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22383 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
22384 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22385 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22386 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22389 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22391 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22394 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22395 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22396 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
22397 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22399 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
22400 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
22401 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22404 @node Writing New Back Ends
22405 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
22407 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22408 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22409 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22410 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22411 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22414 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22415 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22416 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22418 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22419 package called @code{nnoo}.
22421 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
22422 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
22428 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22429 parameters. For instance:
22432 (nnoo-declare nndir
22436 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22437 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22440 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22441 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22442 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22444 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22445 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
22446 a function in those back ends.
22449 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22450 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22451 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22454 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22455 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22456 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22458 @item nnoo-define-basics
22459 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
22463 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22467 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22468 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22469 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
22471 @item nnoo-map-functions
22472 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
22473 functions from the parent back ends.
22476 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22477 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22478 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22481 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22482 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22483 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22484 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22487 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
22488 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22489 haven't already been defined.
22495 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22499 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22500 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22501 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22506 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
22509 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22510 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22514 (require 'nnheader)
22518 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22520 (nnoo-declare nndir
22523 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22524 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22525 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22527 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22528 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22531 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
22533 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22534 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22535 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22537 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22538 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22540 ;;; Interface functions.
22542 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22544 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22545 (setq nndir-directory
22546 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22548 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22549 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22550 (push `(nndir-current-group
22551 ,(file-name-nondirectory
22552 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22554 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22555 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22557 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22559 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22560 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22561 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22562 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22563 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22567 nnmh-status-message
22569 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22575 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22576 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22578 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22579 @findex gnus-declare-backend
22580 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
22581 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22582 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22584 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
22585 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22590 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22593 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
22595 The abilities can be:
22599 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22601 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
22603 This back end supports both mail and news.
22605 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
22608 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22609 articles and groups.
22611 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22612 true for almost all back ends.
22613 @item prompt-address
22614 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22615 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
22616 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22620 @node Mail-like Back Ends
22621 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
22623 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
22624 back ends is the heavy dependence by the mail back ends on common
22625 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22626 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22629 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22630 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22631 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22634 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22635 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22638 This function takes four parameters.
22642 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
22645 @item exit-function
22646 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22648 @item temp-directory
22649 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22652 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22653 performed for one group only.
22656 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
22657 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22658 find the article number assigned to this article.
22660 The function also uses the following variables:
22661 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22662 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
22663 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22664 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22668 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22669 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22673 @node Score File Syntax
22674 @subsection Score File Syntax
22676 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22677 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22678 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22680 Here's a typical score file:
22684 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22691 BNF definition of a score file:
22694 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22695 element = rule / atom
22696 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22697 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22698 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22699 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22701 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22702 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22703 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22704 date-header = "date"
22705 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22706 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22707 score = "nil" / <integer>
22708 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22709 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22710 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22711 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22712 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22713 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22714 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22715 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22716 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22717 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22718 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22719 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22720 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22721 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22722 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22723 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22724 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22725 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22726 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22727 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22728 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22729 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22730 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22731 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22732 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22733 eval = "eval" space <form>
22734 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22737 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22740 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22741 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22742 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22743 one looong line, then that's ok.
22745 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22746 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22750 @subsection Headers
22752 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22753 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22754 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22755 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22757 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22758 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22759 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22760 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22761 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22762 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22763 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22765 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22766 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22767 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22768 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22769 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22771 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22772 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22778 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22779 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22781 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22782 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22783 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22784 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22786 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22790 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22793 is transformed into
22796 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22799 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22800 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22803 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22806 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22807 is slightly tricky:
22810 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22816 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22819 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22825 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22832 and is equal to the previous range.
22834 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22835 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22836 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22840 range = simple-range / normal-range
22841 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22842 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22843 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22844 number *[ " " contents ]
22847 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22848 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22849 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22850 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22851 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22856 @subsection Group Info
22858 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22859 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22860 describes the group.
22862 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22863 second is a more complex one:
22866 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22868 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22869 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22871 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22874 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22875 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22876 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22877 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22878 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22879 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22880 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22881 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22882 this section is about.
22884 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22885 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22886 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22888 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22891 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22892 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22893 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22894 group = quote <string> quote
22895 ralevel = rank / level
22896 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22897 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22898 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22900 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22901 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22902 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22903 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22906 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22907 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22910 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22911 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22914 @item gnus-info-group
22915 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22916 @findex gnus-info-group
22917 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22918 Get/set the group name.
22920 @item gnus-info-rank
22921 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22922 @findex gnus-info-rank
22923 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22924 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22926 @item gnus-info-level
22927 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22928 @findex gnus-info-level
22929 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22930 Get/set the group level.
22932 @item gnus-info-score
22933 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22934 @findex gnus-info-score
22935 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22936 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22938 @item gnus-info-read
22939 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22940 @findex gnus-info-read
22941 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22942 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22944 @item gnus-info-marks
22945 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22946 @findex gnus-info-marks
22947 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22948 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22950 @item gnus-info-method
22951 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22952 @findex gnus-info-method
22953 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22954 Get/set the group select method.
22956 @item gnus-info-params
22957 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22958 @findex gnus-info-params
22959 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22960 Get/set the group parameters.
22963 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22964 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22966 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22967 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22968 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22969 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22972 @node Extended Interactive
22973 @subsection Extended Interactive
22974 @cindex interactive
22975 @findex gnus-interactive
22977 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22978 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22979 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22982 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22983 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22988 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22989 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22990 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22991 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22992 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22993 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22994 @code{interactive}.
22996 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23001 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23002 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23006 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23007 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23008 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23011 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23015 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23019 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23025 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23026 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23030 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23031 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23032 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23034 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23035 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23036 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23037 Gnus, that's very useful.
23039 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23040 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23041 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23042 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23043 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23044 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23045 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23046 following function:
23049 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23053 (,function ,@@args))
23057 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23058 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23059 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23062 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23063 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23064 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23066 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23067 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23068 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23071 @node Various File Formats
23072 @subsection Various File Formats
23075 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23076 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23080 @node Active File Format
23081 @subsubsection Active File Format
23083 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23084 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23087 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23090 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23091 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23092 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23093 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23094 no.general 1000 900 y
23097 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23100 active = *group-line
23101 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
23102 group = <non-white-space string>
23104 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23105 low-number = <positive integer>
23106 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23109 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23110 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23113 @node Newsgroups File Format
23114 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23116 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23117 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23118 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23121 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23122 Here's the definition:
23126 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23127 group = <non-white-space string>
23129 description = <string>
23134 @node Emacs for Heathens
23135 @section Emacs for Heathens
23137 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23138 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23139 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23140 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23141 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23142 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23143 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23147 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23148 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23153 @subsection Keystrokes
23157 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23160 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23163 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23164 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23165 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23166 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23167 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23168 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23170 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23171 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23172 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23173 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23174 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23175 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23176 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23178 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23179 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23180 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23181 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23182 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23183 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23184 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23186 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23187 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23188 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23189 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23190 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23196 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23198 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23199 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23200 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23201 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23203 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23204 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23205 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23206 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23207 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23208 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23209 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23212 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23213 write the following:
23216 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23219 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23220 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23221 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23224 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23225 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23226 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23227 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23228 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23230 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23231 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23232 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23236 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23240 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23243 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23244 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23247 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23250 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23251 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23254 @include gnus-faq.texi
23275 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23276 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23277 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23278 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23279 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref