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4 @settitle T-gnus 6.14 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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265 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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274 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
276 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
277 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
278 are preserved on all copies.
280 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
281 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
282 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
283 permission notice identical to this one.
285 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
286 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
295 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
297 Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
299 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
300 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
301 are preserved on all copies.
304 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
305 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
306 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
307 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
310 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
311 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
312 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
313 permission notice identical to this one.
315 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
316 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
322 @title T-gnus 6.14 Manual
324 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
327 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
328 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
330 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
331 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
332 are preserved on all copies.
334 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
335 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
336 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
337 permission notice identical to this one.
339 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
340 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
349 @top The gnus Newsreader
353 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
354 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
355 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
358 T-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So T-gnus supports
359 your right to read strange messages including big images or other
360 various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
361 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
362 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
363 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
365 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.14.
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
398 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
399 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
400 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
401 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
402 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
403 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
404 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
405 * Various:: General purpose settings.
406 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
407 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
408 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
409 * Key Index:: Key Index.
413 @chapter Starting gnus
418 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
419 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
422 @findex gnus-other-frame
423 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
424 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
425 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
427 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
428 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
429 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
431 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
432 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
435 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
436 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
437 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
438 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
439 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
440 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
441 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
442 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
443 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
444 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
445 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
449 @node Finding the News
450 @section Finding the News
453 @vindex gnus-select-method
455 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
456 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
457 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
458 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
461 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
462 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
465 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
468 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
471 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
474 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
475 certainly be much faster.
477 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
479 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
480 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
481 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
482 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
483 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
484 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
486 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
487 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
488 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
489 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
491 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
492 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
493 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
494 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
495 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
496 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
497 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
498 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
499 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
502 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
504 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
505 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
506 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
507 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
508 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
509 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
511 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
513 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
514 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
515 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
516 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
517 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
518 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
521 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
522 would typically set this variable to
525 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
530 @section The First Time
531 @cindex first time usage
533 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
534 be subscribed by default.
536 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
537 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
538 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
539 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
542 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
543 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
544 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
546 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
547 help you with most common problems.
549 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
550 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
554 @node The Server is Down
555 @section The Server is Down
556 @cindex server errors
558 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
559 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
560 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
562 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
563 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
564 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
565 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
566 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
567 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
568 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
570 @findex gnus-no-server
571 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
573 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
574 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
575 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
576 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
577 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
578 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
583 @section Slave Gnusae
586 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
587 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
588 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
589 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
591 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
594 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
595 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
596 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
597 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
598 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
599 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
600 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
602 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
603 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
604 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
605 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
606 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
607 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
608 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
609 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
611 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
612 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
615 @node Fetching a Group
616 @section Fetching a Group
617 @cindex fetching a group
619 @findex gnus-fetch-group
620 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
621 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
622 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
623 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
624 It takes the group name as a parameter.
632 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
633 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
634 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
635 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
636 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
637 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
638 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
639 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
640 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
643 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
644 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
645 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
649 @node Checking New Groups
650 @subsection Checking New Groups
652 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
653 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
654 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
655 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
656 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
657 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
658 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
659 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
660 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
661 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
663 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
664 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
665 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
666 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
667 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
668 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
669 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
670 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
671 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
672 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
673 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
675 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
676 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
677 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
678 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
679 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
680 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
683 @node Subscription Methods
684 @subsection Subscription Methods
686 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
687 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
688 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
690 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
691 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
693 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
697 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
698 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
699 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
700 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
701 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
703 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
704 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
705 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
706 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
708 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
709 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
710 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
712 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
713 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
714 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
715 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
716 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
717 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
718 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
719 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
720 up. Or something like that.
722 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
723 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
724 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
725 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
726 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
728 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
729 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
732 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
733 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
734 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
735 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
736 topic parameter that looks like
742 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
745 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
750 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
751 A closely related variable is
752 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
753 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
754 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
755 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
758 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
759 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
760 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
761 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
764 @node Filtering New Groups
765 @subsection Filtering New Groups
767 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
768 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
769 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
772 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
775 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
776 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
777 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
778 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
779 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
780 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
781 subscribing these groups.
782 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
783 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
785 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
786 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
787 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
788 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
789 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
790 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
791 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
792 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
794 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
795 Yet another variable that meddles here is
796 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
797 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
798 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
799 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
800 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
801 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
802 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
803 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
805 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
806 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
809 @node Changing Servers
810 @section Changing Servers
811 @cindex changing servers
813 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
814 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
815 very flaky and you want to use another.
817 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
818 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
822 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
823 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
824 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
825 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
828 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
829 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
830 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
831 functions more than absolutely necessary.
833 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
834 @findex gnus-change-server
835 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
836 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
837 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
838 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
839 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
841 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
842 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
843 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
844 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
845 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
847 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
848 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
849 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
850 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
851 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
852 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
854 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
855 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
856 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
860 @section Startup Files
861 @cindex startup files
866 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
867 information is traditionally stored in this file.
869 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
870 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
871 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
872 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
873 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
874 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
875 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
877 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
878 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
879 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
880 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
881 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
882 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
884 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
885 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
886 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
887 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
888 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
889 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
890 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
891 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
892 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
893 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
895 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
896 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
897 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
898 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
899 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
900 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
901 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
902 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
903 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
904 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
905 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
906 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
908 @vindex gnus-startup-file
909 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
910 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
911 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
913 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
914 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
915 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
916 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
917 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
918 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
919 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
920 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
921 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
922 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
925 (defun turn-off-backup ()
926 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
928 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
929 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
932 @vindex gnus-init-file
933 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
934 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
935 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
936 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
937 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
938 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
939 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
940 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
941 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
950 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
951 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
952 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
953 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
954 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
957 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
958 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
961 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
962 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
963 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
965 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
966 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
967 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
968 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
969 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
970 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
972 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
973 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
974 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
977 @node The Active File
978 @section The Active File
980 @cindex ignored groups
982 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
983 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
984 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
986 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
987 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
988 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
989 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
990 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
991 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
992 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
995 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
996 @c if you set it to anything else.
998 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1000 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1001 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1002 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1004 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1005 you actually subscribe to.
1007 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1008 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1009 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1010 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1012 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1013 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1014 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1015 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1016 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1017 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1019 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1020 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1021 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1023 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1024 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1025 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1026 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1027 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1028 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1030 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1031 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1033 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1034 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1036 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1037 secondary select methods.
1040 @node Startup Variables
1041 @section Startup Variables
1045 @item gnus-load-hook
1046 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1047 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1048 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1049 times you start gnus.
1051 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1052 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1053 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1055 @item gnus-startup-hook
1056 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1057 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1059 @item gnus-started-hook
1060 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1061 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1064 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1065 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1066 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1067 generating the group buffer. The default value is @samp{'(gnus-compile)}.
1069 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1070 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1071 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1072 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1073 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1074 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1075 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1076 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1078 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1079 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1080 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1081 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1082 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1083 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1085 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1086 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1087 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1089 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1090 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1091 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1093 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1094 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1095 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1096 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1101 @node The Group Buffer
1102 @chapter The Group Buffer
1103 @cindex group buffer
1105 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1106 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1107 long as gnus is active.
1111 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1112 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1113 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1114 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1115 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1116 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1117 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1118 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1124 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1125 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1126 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1127 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1128 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1129 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1130 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1131 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1132 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1133 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1134 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1135 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1136 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1137 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1138 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1139 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1140 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1144 @node Group Buffer Format
1145 @section Group Buffer Format
1148 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1149 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1150 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1154 @node Group Line Specification
1155 @subsection Group Line Specification
1156 @cindex group buffer format
1158 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1159 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1161 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1164 25: news.announce.newusers
1165 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1170 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1171 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1172 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1173 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1175 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1176 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1177 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1178 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1179 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1180 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1182 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1184 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1185 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1186 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1187 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1190 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1191 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1192 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1194 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1199 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1202 Whether the group is subscribed.
1205 Level of subscribedness.
1208 Number of unread articles.
1211 Number of dormant articles.
1214 Number of ticked articles.
1217 Number of read articles.
1220 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1221 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1224 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1227 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1236 Newsgroup description.
1239 @samp{m} if moderated.
1242 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1251 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1255 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1258 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1259 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1260 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1261 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1262 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1265 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1267 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1271 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1275 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1276 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1277 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1278 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1279 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1280 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1285 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1286 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1287 group, or a bogus native group.
1290 @node Group Modeline Specification
1291 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1292 @cindex group modeline
1294 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1295 The mode line can be changed by setting
1296 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1297 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1301 The native news server.
1303 The native select method.
1307 @node Group Highlighting
1308 @subsection Group Highlighting
1309 @cindex highlighting
1310 @cindex group highlighting
1312 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1313 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1314 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1315 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1316 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1318 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1322 (cond (window-system
1323 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1324 (defface my-group-face-1
1325 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1326 (defface my-group-face-2
1327 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1328 (defface my-group-face-3
1329 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1330 (defface my-group-face-4
1331 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1332 (defface my-group-face-5
1333 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1335 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1336 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1337 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1338 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1339 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1340 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1343 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1345 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1352 The number of unread articles in the group.
1356 Whether the group is a mail group.
1358 The level of the group.
1360 The score of the group.
1362 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1364 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1365 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1367 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1368 topic being inserted.
1371 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1372 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1373 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1375 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1376 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1377 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1378 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1379 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1382 @node Group Maneuvering
1383 @section Group Maneuvering
1384 @cindex group movement
1386 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1387 expected, hopefully.
1393 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1394 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1395 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1401 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1402 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1403 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1407 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1408 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1412 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1413 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1417 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1418 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1419 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1423 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1424 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1425 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1428 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1434 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1435 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1436 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1441 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1442 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1443 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1447 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1448 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1449 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1452 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1453 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1454 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1455 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1459 @node Selecting a Group
1460 @section Selecting a Group
1461 @cindex group selection
1466 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1467 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1468 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1469 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1470 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1471 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1472 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1473 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1474 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1475 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1479 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1480 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1481 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1482 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1483 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1487 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1488 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1489 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1490 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1491 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1492 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1493 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1494 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1495 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1496 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1499 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1500 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1501 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1502 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1503 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1506 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1507 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1508 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1509 doing any processing of its contents
1510 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1511 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1512 manner will have no permanent effects.
1516 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1517 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1518 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1519 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1520 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1521 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1522 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1523 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1526 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1527 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1528 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1529 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1534 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1535 full summary buffer.
1538 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1541 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1546 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1547 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1548 Useful functions include:
1551 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
1552 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
1553 don't select the article.
1555 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
1556 Select the first unread article.
1558 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
1559 Select the highest-scored unread article.
1563 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1564 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1565 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1569 @node Subscription Commands
1570 @section Subscription Commands
1571 @cindex subscription
1579 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1580 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1581 Toggle subscription to the current group
1582 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1588 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1589 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1590 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1591 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1597 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1598 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1599 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1605 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1606 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1609 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1610 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1611 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1612 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1613 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1619 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1620 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1624 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1625 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1628 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1629 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1630 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1631 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1632 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1633 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1634 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1635 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1636 @file{.newsrc} file.
1640 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1650 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1651 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1652 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1653 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1654 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1655 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1660 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1661 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1662 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1666 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1667 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1668 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1670 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1671 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1672 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1673 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1674 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1675 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1682 @section Group Levels
1686 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1687 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1688 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1689 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1690 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1692 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1698 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1699 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1700 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1701 prompted for a level.
1704 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1705 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1706 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1707 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1708 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1709 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1710 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1711 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1712 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1713 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1714 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1715 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1716 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1717 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1718 reasons of efficiency.
1720 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1721 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1723 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1724 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1725 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1727 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1728 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1729 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1730 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1731 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1732 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1733 relevant valid ranges.
1735 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1736 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1737 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1738 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1739 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1740 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1743 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1744 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1745 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1748 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1749 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1750 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1751 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1754 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1755 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1756 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1757 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1759 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1760 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1761 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1762 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1763 to 5. The default is 6.
1767 @section Group Score
1772 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1773 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1774 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1777 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
1778 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
1779 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
1780 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
1781 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
1782 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
1783 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
1784 least significant part.))
1786 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1787 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1788 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1789 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1790 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1791 action after each summary exit, you can add
1792 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1793 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1794 slow things down somewhat.
1797 @node Marking Groups
1798 @section Marking Groups
1799 @cindex marking groups
1801 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1802 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1803 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1804 bidding on those groups.
1806 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1807 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1808 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1816 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1817 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1823 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1824 Remove the mark from the current group
1825 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1829 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1830 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1834 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1835 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1839 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1840 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1844 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1845 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1846 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1849 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1851 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1852 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1853 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1854 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1855 the command to be executed.
1858 @node Foreign Groups
1859 @section Foreign Groups
1860 @cindex foreign groups
1862 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1863 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1864 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1865 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1872 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1873 @cindex making groups
1874 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1875 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1876 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1880 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1881 @cindex renaming groups
1882 Rename the current group to something else
1883 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1884 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1890 @findex gnus-group-customize
1891 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1895 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1896 @cindex renaming groups
1897 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1898 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1902 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1903 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1904 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1908 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1909 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1910 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1914 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1916 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1917 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1922 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1923 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1927 @cindex (ding) archive
1928 @cindex archive group
1929 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1930 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1931 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1932 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1933 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1934 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1935 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1939 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1941 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1942 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1943 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1944 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1948 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1950 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1951 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1952 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1956 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1957 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1959 Make a group based on some file or other
1960 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1961 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1962 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1963 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1964 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
1965 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
1966 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1970 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
1971 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
1972 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
1973 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
1977 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1982 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1983 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1984 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1985 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1986 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1987 @xref{Web Searches}.
1989 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1990 to a particular group by using a match string like
1991 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1994 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1995 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1996 This function will delete the current group
1997 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1998 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1999 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2000 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2001 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2005 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2006 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2007 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2011 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2012 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2013 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2016 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2019 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2020 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2021 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2022 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2023 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2024 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2028 @node Group Parameters
2029 @section Group Parameters
2030 @cindex group parameters
2032 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2033 Here's an example group parameter list:
2036 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2040 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2041 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2042 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2043 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2045 The following group parameters can be used:
2050 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2053 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2056 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2057 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2058 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2059 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2060 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2062 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2063 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2064 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2065 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2066 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2067 list address instead.
2071 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2074 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2077 It is totally ignored
2078 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2079 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2081 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2082 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2083 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2084 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2085 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2087 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2088 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2089 sending the message.
2093 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2094 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2095 of whether it has any unread articles.
2097 @item broken-reply-to
2098 @cindex broken-reply-to
2099 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2100 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2101 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2102 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2103 broken behavior. So there!
2107 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2108 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2112 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2113 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2114 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2119 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2120 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2121 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2122 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2123 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2124 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2125 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2129 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2130 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2131 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2134 @cindex total-expire
2135 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2136 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2137 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2138 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2143 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2144 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2145 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2146 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2147 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2148 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2151 @cindex score file group parameter
2152 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2153 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2154 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2157 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2158 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2159 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2160 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2163 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2164 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2165 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2166 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2169 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2170 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2174 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2177 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2182 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2183 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2184 gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2188 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2189 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2190 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2192 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2193 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2194 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2195 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2196 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2197 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2198 @code{eval}ed there.
2200 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2201 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2202 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2203 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2204 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2207 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2208 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2209 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2210 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2211 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2213 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2214 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2215 like this in the group parameters:
2220 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2225 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2226 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2230 @node Listing Groups
2231 @section Listing Groups
2232 @cindex group listing
2234 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2242 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2243 List all groups that have unread articles
2244 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2245 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2246 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2247 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2254 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2255 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2256 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2257 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2258 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2259 unsubscribed groups).
2263 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2264 List all unread groups on a specific level
2265 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2266 with no unread articles.
2270 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2271 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2272 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2273 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2278 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2279 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2283 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2284 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2285 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2289 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2290 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2294 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2295 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2296 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2297 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2298 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2299 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2300 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2301 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2305 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2306 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2307 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2311 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2312 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2313 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2317 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2318 @cindex visible group parameter
2319 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2320 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2321 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2322 get the same effect.
2324 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2325 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2326 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2327 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2328 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2331 @node Sorting Groups
2332 @section Sorting Groups
2333 @cindex sorting groups
2335 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2336 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2337 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2338 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2339 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2340 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2345 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2346 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2347 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2349 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2350 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2351 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2353 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2354 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2355 Sort by group level.
2357 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2358 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2359 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2361 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2362 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2363 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2364 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2366 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2367 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2368 Sort by number of unread articles.
2370 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2371 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2372 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2377 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2378 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2382 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2383 some sorting criteria:
2387 @kindex G S a (Group)
2388 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2389 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2390 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2393 @kindex G S u (Group)
2394 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2395 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2396 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2399 @kindex G S l (Group)
2400 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2401 Sort the group buffer by group level
2402 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2405 @kindex G S v (Group)
2406 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2407 Sort the group buffer by group score
2408 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2411 @kindex G S r (Group)
2412 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2413 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2414 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2417 @kindex G S m (Group)
2418 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2419 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2420 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2424 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2425 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2427 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2428 commands will sort in reverse order.
2430 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2434 @kindex G P a (Group)
2435 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2436 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2437 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2440 @kindex G P u (Group)
2441 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2442 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2443 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2446 @kindex G P l (Group)
2447 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2448 Sort the groups by group level
2449 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2452 @kindex G P v (Group)
2453 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2454 Sort the groups by group score
2455 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2458 @kindex G P r (Group)
2459 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2460 Sort the groups by group rank
2461 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2464 @kindex G P m (Group)
2465 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2466 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2467 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2473 @node Group Maintenance
2474 @section Group Maintenance
2475 @cindex bogus groups
2480 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2481 Find bogus groups and delete them
2482 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2486 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2487 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2488 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2489 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2490 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2494 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2495 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2496 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2497 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2500 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2501 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2502 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2503 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2508 @node Browse Foreign Server
2509 @section Browse Foreign Server
2510 @cindex foreign servers
2511 @cindex browsing servers
2516 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2517 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2518 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2519 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2522 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2523 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2524 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2525 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2527 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2532 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2533 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2537 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2538 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2541 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2542 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2543 Enter the current group and display the first article
2544 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2547 @kindex RET (Browse)
2548 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2549 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2553 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2554 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2555 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2561 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2562 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2566 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2567 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2568 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2573 @section Exiting gnus
2574 @cindex exiting gnus
2576 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
2581 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2582 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
2583 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2584 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2588 @findex gnus-group-exit
2589 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2590 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2594 @findex gnus-group-quit
2595 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2596 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2599 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2600 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2601 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
2602 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
2603 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2608 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2609 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2610 trying to customize meta-variables.
2615 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2616 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2617 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2623 @section Group Topics
2626 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2627 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2628 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2629 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2630 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2631 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2635 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2636 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2647 2: alt.religion.emacs
2650 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2652 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2653 13: comp.sources.unix
2656 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2658 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2659 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2660 is a toggling command.)
2662 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2663 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2664 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2665 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2668 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2669 the hook for the group mode:
2672 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2676 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2677 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2678 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2679 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2680 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2684 @node Topic Variables
2685 @subsection Topic Variables
2686 @cindex topic variables
2688 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2689 really neat, I think.
2691 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2692 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2693 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2706 Number of groups in the topic.
2708 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2710 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2713 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2714 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2715 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2718 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2719 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2721 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2722 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2723 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2726 @node Topic Commands
2727 @subsection Topic Commands
2728 @cindex topic commands
2730 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2731 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2732 definitions slightly.
2738 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2739 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2740 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2744 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2745 Move the current group to some other topic
2746 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2747 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2751 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
2752 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
2756 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2757 Copy the current group to some other topic
2758 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2759 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2763 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2764 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2765 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2766 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2767 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2768 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2769 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2772 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2773 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2777 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2778 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2779 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2783 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2784 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2785 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2789 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2790 Toggle hiding empty topics
2791 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2795 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2796 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2797 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2800 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2801 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2802 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2803 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2807 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2809 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2810 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2811 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2812 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2815 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2816 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2817 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2818 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2822 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2824 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2825 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2826 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2827 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2828 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2829 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2832 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
2833 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
2834 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
2835 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
2839 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2840 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2841 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2845 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2846 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2847 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2852 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2853 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2856 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2857 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2858 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2862 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2863 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2864 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2868 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2869 @cindex group parameters
2870 @cindex topic parameters
2872 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2873 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2879 @subsection Topic Sorting
2880 @cindex topic sorting
2882 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2888 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2889 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2890 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2891 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2894 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2895 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2896 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2897 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2900 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2901 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2902 Sort the current topic by group level
2903 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2906 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2907 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2908 Sort the current topic by group score
2909 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2912 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2913 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2914 Sort the current topic by group rank
2915 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2918 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2919 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2920 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2921 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2925 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
2928 @node Topic Topology
2929 @subsection Topic Topology
2930 @cindex topic topology
2933 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2939 2: alt.religion.emacs
2942 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2944 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2945 13: comp.sources.unix
2948 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2949 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2950 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2955 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2956 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2960 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2961 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2962 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2963 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2964 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2965 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2967 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2968 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2969 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2972 @node Topic Parameters
2973 @subsection Topic Parameters
2974 @cindex topic parameters
2976 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2977 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2978 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2980 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
2985 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
2986 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
2987 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
2992 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2993 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2994 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2995 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3001 2: alt.religion.emacs
3005 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3007 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3008 13: comp.sources.unix
3012 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3013 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3014 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3015 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3016 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3017 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3019 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3020 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3021 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3022 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3023 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3025 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3026 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3027 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3028 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3029 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3030 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3031 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3032 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3035 @node Misc Group Stuff
3036 @section Misc Group Stuff
3039 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3040 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
3041 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3042 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
3049 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3050 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3051 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3055 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3056 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3057 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3061 @findex gnus-group-mail
3062 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3066 Variables for the group buffer:
3070 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3071 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3072 is called after the group buffer has been
3075 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3076 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3077 is called after the group buffer is
3078 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3081 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3082 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3083 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3084 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3086 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3087 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3088 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3089 whether they are empty or not.
3094 @node Scanning New Messages
3095 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3096 @cindex new messages
3097 @cindex scanning new news
3103 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3104 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3105 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3106 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3107 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3108 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3113 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3114 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3115 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3116 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3117 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3118 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3119 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3121 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3122 @cindex activating groups
3124 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3125 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3130 @findex gnus-group-restart
3131 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3132 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3133 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3137 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3138 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3140 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3141 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3145 @node Group Information
3146 @subsection Group Information
3147 @cindex group information
3148 @cindex information on groups
3155 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3156 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3159 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3160 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3161 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3162 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3163 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3164 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3165 for fetching the file.
3167 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3168 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3172 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3174 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3175 @cindex describing groups
3176 @cindex group description
3177 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3178 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3179 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3183 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3184 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3185 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3192 @findex gnus-version
3193 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3197 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3198 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3201 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3204 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3205 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3209 @node Group Timestamp
3210 @subsection Group Timestamp
3212 @cindex group timestamps
3214 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3215 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3216 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3219 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3222 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3224 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3225 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3228 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3229 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3232 This will result in lines looking like:
3235 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3236 0: custom 19961002T012713
3239 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3240 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3244 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3245 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3250 @subsection File Commands
3251 @cindex file commands
3257 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3258 @vindex gnus-init-file
3259 @cindex reading init file
3260 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3261 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3265 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3266 @cindex saving .newsrc
3267 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3268 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3269 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3272 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3273 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3274 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3279 @node The Summary Buffer
3280 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3281 @cindex summary buffer
3283 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3284 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3286 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3287 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3289 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3292 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3293 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3294 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3295 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3296 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3297 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3298 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3299 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3300 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3301 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3302 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3303 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3304 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3305 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3306 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3307 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3308 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3309 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3310 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3311 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3312 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3313 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3314 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3315 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3316 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3317 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3318 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3319 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3323 @node Summary Buffer Format
3324 @section Summary Buffer Format
3325 @cindex summary buffer format
3329 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3330 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3331 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3337 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3338 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3339 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3340 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3343 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3344 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3345 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3346 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3347 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3348 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3349 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3350 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3351 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3352 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3353 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3354 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3355 other function instead:
3358 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3359 'mail-extract-address-components)
3362 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3363 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3364 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3365 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3368 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3369 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3371 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3372 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3373 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3374 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3375 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3377 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3379 The following format specification characters are understood:
3385 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3386 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3388 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3389 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3390 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3392 Full @code{From} header.
3394 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3396 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3397 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3399 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3400 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3401 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3402 may be more thorough.
3404 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3407 Number of lines in the article.
3409 Number of characters in the article.
3411 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3413 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3414 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3416 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3417 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3419 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3420 for adopted articles.
3422 One space for each thread level.
3424 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3429 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3430 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3434 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3436 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3437 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3438 default level. If the difference between
3439 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3440 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3448 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3450 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3456 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3457 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3459 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3460 article has any children.
3466 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3467 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3468 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3469 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3470 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3471 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3474 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3475 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
3476 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3477 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3478 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3479 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3481 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3482 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3484 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
3487 @node To From Newsgroups
3488 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3492 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3493 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3494 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3495 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3496 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3500 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3501 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3502 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3506 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3507 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3510 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3511 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
3514 @findex gnus-extra-header
3515 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
3516 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
3517 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
3520 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
3524 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3525 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
3526 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
3527 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
3528 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
3529 headers are used instead.
3533 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
3534 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
3535 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
3536 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
3539 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3540 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
3541 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
3542 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
3544 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
3547 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3549 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
3550 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
3551 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
3552 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3556 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
3557 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
3564 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
3565 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
3568 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3569 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3571 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3572 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3573 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3574 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3576 Here are the elements you can play with:
3582 Unprefixed group name.
3584 Current article number.
3586 Current article score.
3590 Number of unread articles in this group.
3592 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3595 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3596 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3597 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3598 and no unselected ones.
3600 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3601 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3603 Subject of the current article.
3605 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3607 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3609 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3611 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3613 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3615 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3619 @node Summary Highlighting
3620 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3624 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3625 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3626 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3627 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3628 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3630 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3631 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3632 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3633 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3635 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3636 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3637 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3638 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3640 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3641 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3642 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3643 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
3644 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
3645 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
3648 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3649 ((> score default) . bold))
3651 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3652 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
3656 @node Summary Maneuvering
3657 @section Summary Maneuvering
3658 @cindex summary movement
3660 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3661 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3663 None of these commands select articles.
3668 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3669 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3670 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3671 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3672 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3676 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3677 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3678 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3679 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3680 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3685 @kindex G j (Summary)
3686 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3687 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3688 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3691 @kindex G g (Summary)
3692 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3693 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3694 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3697 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3698 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3699 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3700 to the group buffer.
3702 Variables related to summary movement:
3706 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3707 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3708 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3709 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
3710 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3711 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3712 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
3713 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3714 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
3715 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3716 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3717 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3718 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3719 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3721 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3722 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3723 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3724 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3725 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3726 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3727 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3729 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3731 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3732 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3733 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3734 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3735 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3737 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3738 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3739 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3740 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3741 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3742 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3743 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3744 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3747 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
3748 the given number of lines from the top.
3753 @node Choosing Articles
3754 @section Choosing Articles
3755 @cindex selecting articles
3758 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3759 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3763 @node Choosing Commands
3764 @subsection Choosing Commands
3766 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3767 and they all select and display an article.
3771 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3772 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3773 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3774 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3779 @kindex G n (Summary)
3780 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3781 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3782 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3787 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3788 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3789 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3794 @kindex G N (Summary)
3795 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3796 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3801 @kindex G P (Summary)
3802 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3803 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3806 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3807 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3808 Go to the next article with the same subject
3809 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3812 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3813 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3814 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3815 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3819 @kindex G f (Summary)
3821 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3822 Go to the first unread article
3823 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3827 @kindex G b (Summary)
3829 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3830 Go to the article with the highest score
3831 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3836 @kindex G l (Summary)
3837 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3838 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3841 @kindex G o (Summary)
3842 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3844 @cindex article history
3845 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3846 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3847 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3848 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3849 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3850 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3854 @node Choosing Variables
3855 @subsection Choosing Variables
3857 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3860 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3861 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3862 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3863 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3864 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3865 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3867 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3868 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3869 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3870 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3872 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3873 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3874 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3875 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3876 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3877 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3878 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3879 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3880 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3881 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3882 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3883 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3884 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3885 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3890 @node Paging the Article
3891 @section Scrolling the Article
3892 @cindex article scrolling
3897 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3898 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3899 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3900 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3901 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3904 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3905 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3906 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3909 @kindex RET (Summary)
3910 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3911 Scroll the current article one line forward
3912 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3915 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3916 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3917 Scroll the current article one line backward
3918 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3922 @kindex A g (Summary)
3924 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3925 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
3926 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3927 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3928 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3929 the way it came from the server.
3931 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
3932 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
3933 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
3936 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
3941 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
3946 @kindex A < (Summary)
3947 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3948 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3949 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3954 @kindex A > (Summary)
3955 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3956 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3960 @kindex A s (Summary)
3962 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3963 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3964 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3968 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3969 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3974 @node Reply Followup and Post
3975 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3978 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3979 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3980 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
3981 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3985 @node Summary Mail Commands
3986 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3988 @cindex composing mail
3990 Commands for composing a mail message:
3996 @kindex S r (Summary)
3998 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3999 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4000 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4001 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4002 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4007 @kindex S R (Summary)
4008 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4009 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4010 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4011 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4012 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4015 @kindex S w (Summary)
4016 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4017 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4018 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4019 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4020 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4023 @kindex S W (Summary)
4024 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4025 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4026 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4027 the process/prefix convention.
4030 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4031 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4032 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4033 Forward the current article to some other person
4034 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4035 headers of the forwarded article.
4040 @kindex S m (Summary)
4041 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4042 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4043 Send a mail to some other person
4044 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4047 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4048 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4049 @cindex bouncing mail
4050 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4051 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4052 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4053 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4054 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4055 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
4056 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4057 very well fail, though.
4060 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4061 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4062 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4063 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4064 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4065 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4066 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4067 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4068 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4069 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4071 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4072 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4073 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4074 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4075 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4077 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4078 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4081 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4082 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4083 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4084 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4085 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4088 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4089 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4090 @cindex crossposting
4091 @cindex excessive crossposting
4092 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4093 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4095 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4096 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4097 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4098 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4099 command understands the process/prefix convention
4100 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4104 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4107 @node Summary Post Commands
4108 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4110 @cindex composing news
4112 Commands for posting a news article:
4118 @kindex S p (Summary)
4119 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4120 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4121 Post an article to the current group
4122 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4127 @kindex S f (Summary)
4128 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4129 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4130 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4134 @kindex S F (Summary)
4136 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4137 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4138 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4139 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4140 process/prefix convention.
4143 @kindex S n (Summary)
4144 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4145 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4146 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4149 @kindex S N (Summary)
4150 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4151 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4152 message through mail and include the original message
4153 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4154 the process/prefix convention.
4157 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4158 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4159 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4160 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4161 headers of the forwarded article.
4164 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4165 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4167 @cindex making digests
4168 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4169 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4170 process/prefix convention.
4173 @kindex S u (Summary)
4174 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4175 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4176 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4177 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4180 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4183 @node Summary Message Commands
4184 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4188 @kindex S y (Summary)
4189 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4190 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4191 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4192 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4193 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4198 @node Canceling and Superseding
4199 @subsection Canceling Articles
4200 @cindex canceling articles
4201 @cindex superseding articles
4203 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4204 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4206 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4208 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4210 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4211 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4212 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4213 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4214 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4215 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4217 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4218 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4221 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4222 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4223 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4225 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4226 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4227 your original article.
4229 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4231 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4232 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4233 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4236 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4237 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4238 have posted almost the same article twice.
4240 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4241 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4242 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4243 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4244 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4245 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4246 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4247 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4248 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4249 canceled/superseded.
4251 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4254 @node Marking Articles
4255 @section Marking Articles
4256 @cindex article marking
4257 @cindex article ticking
4260 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4262 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4263 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4264 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4266 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4269 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4270 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4271 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4275 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4279 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4280 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4281 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4285 @node Unread Articles
4286 @subsection Unread Articles
4288 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4293 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4294 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4296 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4297 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4298 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4299 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4300 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4304 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4305 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4307 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4308 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4309 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4312 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4313 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4315 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4320 @subsection Read Articles
4321 @cindex expirable mark
4323 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4328 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4329 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4330 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4333 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4334 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4337 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4338 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4339 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4342 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4343 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4346 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4347 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4350 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4351 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4354 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4355 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4358 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4359 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4362 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4363 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4366 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4367 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4371 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4372 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4373 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4377 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4378 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4380 One more special mark, though:
4384 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4385 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4387 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4388 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4389 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4390 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
4396 @subsection Other Marks
4397 @cindex process mark
4400 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4406 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4407 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4408 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4409 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4410 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4413 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4414 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4415 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4416 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4419 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4420 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4421 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4424 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4425 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4426 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4427 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4430 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4431 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4432 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4433 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4434 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4437 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4438 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4439 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4440 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4441 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4442 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4446 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4447 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4448 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4450 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4451 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4452 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4456 @subsection Setting Marks
4457 @cindex setting marks
4459 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4464 @kindex M c (Summary)
4465 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4466 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4467 @cindex mark as unread
4468 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4469 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4475 @kindex M t (Summary)
4476 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4477 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4478 @xref{Article Caching}.
4483 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4484 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4485 Mark the current article as dormant
4486 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4490 @kindex M d (Summary)
4492 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4493 Mark the current article as read
4494 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4498 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4499 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4500 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4505 @kindex M k (Summary)
4506 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4507 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4508 and then select the next unread article
4509 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4513 @kindex M K (Summary)
4514 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4515 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4516 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4517 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4520 @kindex M C (Summary)
4521 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4522 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4523 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4526 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4527 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4528 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4529 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4532 @kindex M H (Summary)
4533 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4534 Catchup the current group to point
4535 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4538 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4539 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4540 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4541 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4544 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4545 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4546 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4547 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4551 @kindex M e (Summary)
4553 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4554 Mark the current article as expirable
4555 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4558 @kindex M b (Summary)
4559 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4560 Set a bookmark in the current article
4561 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4564 @kindex M B (Summary)
4565 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4566 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4567 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4570 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4571 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4572 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4573 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4576 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4578 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4579 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4582 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4583 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4584 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4585 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4586 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4589 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4590 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4591 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4592 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4593 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4594 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4595 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4596 The default is @code{t}.
4599 @node Generic Marking Commands
4600 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
4602 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
4603 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
4604 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
4605 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
4606 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
4609 Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
4610 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
4613 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
4614 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
4615 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
4616 to list in this manual.
4618 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
4619 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
4620 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
4621 article, you could say something like:
4624 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
4625 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
4626 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
4632 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
4633 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
4637 @node Setting Process Marks
4638 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4639 @cindex setting process marks
4646 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4647 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4648 Mark the current article with the process mark
4649 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4650 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4654 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4655 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4656 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4657 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4660 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4661 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4662 Remove the process mark from all articles
4663 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4666 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4667 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4668 Invert the list of process marked articles
4669 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4672 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4673 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4674 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4675 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4678 @kindex M P G (Summary)
4679 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
4680 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4681 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
4684 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4685 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4686 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4689 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4690 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4691 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4692 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4695 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4696 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4697 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4698 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4701 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4702 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4703 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4704 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4707 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4708 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4709 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4712 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4713 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4714 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4715 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4718 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4719 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4720 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4723 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4724 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4725 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4726 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4729 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4730 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4731 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4732 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4735 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4736 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4737 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4738 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4741 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4742 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4743 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4744 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4753 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4754 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4755 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4758 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4759 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4760 additional articles.
4766 @kindex / / (Summary)
4767 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4768 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4769 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4772 @kindex / a (Summary)
4773 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4774 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4775 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4778 @kindex / x (Summary)
4779 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
4780 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
4781 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
4782 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4786 @kindex / u (Summary)
4788 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4789 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4790 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4791 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4792 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4795 @kindex / m (Summary)
4796 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4797 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4798 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4801 @kindex / t (Summary)
4802 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4803 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4804 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4805 articles younger than that number of days.
4808 @kindex / n (Summary)
4809 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4810 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4811 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4812 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4815 @kindex / w (Summary)
4816 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4817 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4818 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4822 @kindex / v (Summary)
4823 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4824 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4825 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4829 @kindex M S (Summary)
4830 @kindex / E (Summary)
4831 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4832 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4833 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4836 @kindex / D (Summary)
4837 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4838 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4839 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4842 @kindex / * (Summary)
4843 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4844 Include all cached articles in the limit
4845 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4848 @kindex / d (Summary)
4849 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4850 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4851 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4854 @kindex / M (Summary)
4855 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
4856 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
4859 @kindex / T (Summary)
4860 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4861 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4864 @kindex / c (Summary)
4865 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4866 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4867 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4870 @kindex / C (Summary)
4871 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4872 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4873 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4874 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4882 @cindex article threading
4884 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4885 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4886 hierarchical fashion.
4888 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4889 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4890 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4891 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4892 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4893 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4894 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4896 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4900 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4903 A tree-like article structure.
4906 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4909 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4910 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4911 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4912 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4913 called loose threads.
4915 @item thread gathering
4916 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4918 @item sparse threads
4919 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4920 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4926 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4927 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4931 @node Customizing Threading
4932 @subsection Customizing Threading
4933 @cindex customizing threading
4936 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4937 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4938 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4939 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4944 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4947 @cindex loose threads
4950 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4951 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4952 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4953 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4954 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4955 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4957 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
4958 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
4959 There are four possible values:
4963 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4964 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4965 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4966 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4967 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4972 @cindex adopting articles
4977 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4978 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4979 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4980 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4983 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4984 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4985 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4986 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4987 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4988 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4989 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4992 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4993 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4994 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4998 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4999 display them after one another.
5002 Don't gather loose threads.
5005 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5006 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5007 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5008 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
5009 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5010 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5011 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5012 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5013 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5014 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
5015 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5017 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5018 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
5019 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5022 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5023 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5024 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5025 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5026 simplification is used.
5028 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5029 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5030 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5031 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5033 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5035 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5041 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5042 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5043 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5044 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5049 (mapconcat 'identity
5050 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5052 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5055 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5058 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5059 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5060 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5061 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5062 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5063 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5065 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5068 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5069 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5070 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5072 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5073 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5076 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5077 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5078 Remove excessive whitespace.
5081 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5084 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5085 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5086 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5087 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5088 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5089 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5090 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5091 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5093 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5094 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5095 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5096 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5097 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5098 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5099 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5100 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5101 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5105 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5106 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5107 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5108 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5110 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5111 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5112 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5115 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5119 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5120 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5126 @node Filling In Threads
5127 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5130 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5131 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5132 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5133 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5134 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5135 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5136 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5137 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5138 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5139 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5140 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5141 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
5143 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5144 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5145 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5147 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5148 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5149 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5150 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5151 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5152 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5153 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
5154 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5155 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
5156 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
5157 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5158 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
5159 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5160 @code{nil} by default.
5165 @node More Threading
5166 @subsubsection More Threading
5169 @item gnus-show-threads
5170 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5171 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5172 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5173 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5174 slower and more awkward.
5176 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5177 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5178 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5181 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5182 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5183 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5184 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5185 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5186 threads are expunged.
5188 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5189 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5190 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5193 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5194 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5195 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5196 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5197 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5200 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5201 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5202 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5205 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5206 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5207 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5208 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5209 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5210 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5211 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5212 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5213 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5214 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5215 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5220 @node Low-Level Threading
5221 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5225 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5226 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5227 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
5228 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
5229 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
5230 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
5232 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5233 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5234 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5235 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5236 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5237 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5238 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5239 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5240 meaningful. Here's one example:
5243 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5245 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5246 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5248 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5250 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5257 @node Thread Commands
5258 @subsection Thread Commands
5259 @cindex thread commands
5265 @kindex T k (Summary)
5266 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5267 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5268 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5269 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5270 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5275 @kindex T l (Summary)
5276 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5277 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5278 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5279 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5282 @kindex T i (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5284 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5285 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5288 @kindex T # (Summary)
5289 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5290 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5291 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5294 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5295 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5296 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5297 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5300 @kindex T T (Summary)
5301 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5302 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5305 @kindex T s (Summary)
5306 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5307 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5308 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5311 @kindex T h (Summary)
5312 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5313 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5316 @kindex T S (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5318 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5321 @kindex T H (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5323 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5326 @kindex T t (Summary)
5327 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5328 Re-thread the current article's thread
5329 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5330 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5333 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5334 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5335 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5336 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5340 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5341 understand the numeric prefix.
5346 @kindex T n (Summary)
5347 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5348 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5351 @kindex T p (Summary)
5352 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5353 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5356 @kindex T d (Summary)
5357 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5358 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5361 @kindex T u (Summary)
5362 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5363 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5366 @kindex T o (Summary)
5367 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5368 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5371 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5372 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5373 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5374 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5375 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5376 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5377 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5378 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5379 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5380 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5381 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5382 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5389 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5390 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5391 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5392 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5393 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5394 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5395 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5396 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5397 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5398 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5399 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5401 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5402 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5403 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5404 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5405 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5407 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5408 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5409 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5411 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5412 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5413 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5414 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5415 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5416 ascending article order.
5418 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5419 by number, you could do something like:
5422 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5423 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5424 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5425 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5428 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5429 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5430 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5431 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5432 which the articles arrived.
5434 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5438 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5440 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5441 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5444 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5445 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5446 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5447 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5450 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5451 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5452 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5453 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5454 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5455 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5456 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5457 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5458 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5459 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5460 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5461 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5462 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5464 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5468 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5469 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5470 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5475 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5476 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5477 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5478 @cindex article pre-fetch
5481 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5482 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5483 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5484 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5485 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5487 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5488 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
5490 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5491 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5492 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5493 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5494 connection is blocked.
5496 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5497 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5498 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5499 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
5501 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5502 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5503 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5504 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5507 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5510 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5511 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5512 happen automatically.
5514 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5515 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5516 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5517 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5518 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5519 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5520 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5522 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5523 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5524 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5525 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5526 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5527 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5528 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5529 data structure as the only parameter.
5531 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5534 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5535 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5536 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5537 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5540 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5543 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5544 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
5545 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5547 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5548 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5549 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5550 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5554 Remove articles when they are read.
5557 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5560 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5562 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5563 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5564 @c from the next group.
5567 @node Article Caching
5568 @section Article Caching
5569 @cindex article caching
5572 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5573 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5574 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5575 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5576 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5578 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5580 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5581 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5582 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5583 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5584 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5585 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5586 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5587 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5589 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5590 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5591 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5592 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5593 as dormant, and don't worry.
5595 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5597 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5598 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5599 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5600 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5601 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5602 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5603 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5604 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5605 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5606 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5608 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5609 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5610 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5611 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5612 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5613 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5614 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5615 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5616 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5617 not then be downloaded by this command.
5619 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5620 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5621 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5622 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5623 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5624 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5626 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5627 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5628 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5629 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5630 variables, the group is not cached.
5632 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5633 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5634 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5635 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5636 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5637 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
5638 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5639 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5640 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5644 @node Persistent Articles
5645 @section Persistent Articles
5646 @cindex persistent articles
5648 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5649 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5650 useful in my opinion.
5652 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5653 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5654 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5655 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5656 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5657 the expiry going on at the news server.
5659 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5660 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5661 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5667 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5668 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5671 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5672 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5673 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5674 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5678 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5680 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5681 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5682 interested in persistent articles:
5685 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5689 @node Article Backlog
5690 @section Article Backlog
5692 @cindex article backlog
5694 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5695 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5696 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
5697 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5698 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5699 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5700 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
5701 increase memory usage some.
5703 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5704 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
5705 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5706 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
5707 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5708 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5709 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5711 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5714 @node Saving Articles
5715 @section Saving Articles
5716 @cindex saving articles
5718 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5719 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5720 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5721 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5722 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5724 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5725 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
5726 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5728 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5729 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5730 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5731 deleted before saving.
5737 @kindex O o (Summary)
5739 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5740 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5741 Save the current article using the default article saver
5742 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5745 @kindex O m (Summary)
5746 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5747 Save the current article in mail format
5748 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5751 @kindex O r (Summary)
5752 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5753 Save the current article in rmail format
5754 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5757 @kindex O f (Summary)
5758 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5759 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5760 Save the current article in plain file format
5761 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5764 @kindex O F (Summary)
5765 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5766 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5767 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5770 @kindex O b (Summary)
5771 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5772 Save the current article body in plain file format
5773 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5776 @kindex O h (Summary)
5777 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5778 Save the current article in mh folder format
5779 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5782 @kindex O v (Summary)
5783 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5784 Save the current article in a VM folder
5785 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5788 @kindex O p (Summary)
5789 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5790 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5791 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5794 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5795 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5796 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5797 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5798 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5799 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5800 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5801 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5802 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5803 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5804 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5805 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5809 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5810 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5811 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
5812 functions below, or you can create your own.
5816 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5817 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5818 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5819 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5820 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5821 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5822 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5824 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5825 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5826 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5827 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5828 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5829 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5831 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5832 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5833 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5834 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5835 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5836 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5837 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5839 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5840 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5841 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5842 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5843 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5845 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5846 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5847 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5848 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5849 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5852 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5853 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5854 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5855 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5856 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5858 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5859 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5860 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5861 reader to use this setting.
5864 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5865 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5866 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5867 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5870 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5871 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5872 available functions that generate names:
5876 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5877 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5878 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5880 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5881 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5882 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5884 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5885 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5886 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5888 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5889 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5890 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5893 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5894 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5895 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5896 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5897 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5901 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5902 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5903 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5904 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5907 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5908 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5909 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5910 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5911 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5912 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5913 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5914 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5915 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5917 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5918 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5919 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5920 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5922 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5923 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5924 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5927 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5928 lots of mail groups called things like
5929 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5930 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5931 following will do just that:
5934 (defun my-save-name (group)
5935 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5936 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5938 (setq gnus-split-methods
5939 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5944 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5945 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5946 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5947 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5948 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5949 all the files in the top level directory
5950 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5951 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5952 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5953 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5955 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5956 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5957 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5958 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5959 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5962 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5966 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5967 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5970 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5971 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5972 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5973 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5976 @node Decoding Articles
5977 @section Decoding Articles
5978 @cindex decoding articles
5980 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5981 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5984 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5985 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5986 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5987 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5988 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5989 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5993 @cindex article series
5994 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5995 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5996 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5997 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5998 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6000 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6001 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6002 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6004 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
6005 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6006 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6008 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6009 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6010 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6013 @node Uuencoded Articles
6014 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6016 @cindex uuencoded articles
6021 @kindex X u (Summary)
6022 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6023 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6024 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6027 @kindex X U (Summary)
6028 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6029 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6030 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6033 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6035 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6038 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6039 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6040 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6041 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6045 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6046 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6047 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6048 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6049 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6051 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6052 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6053 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6054 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6057 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6058 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6059 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6060 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6061 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6062 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6066 @node Shell Archives
6067 @subsection Shell Archives
6069 @cindex shell archives
6070 @cindex shared articles
6072 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6073 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6074 some commands to deal with these:
6079 @kindex X s (Summary)
6080 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6081 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6084 @kindex X S (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6086 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6089 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6090 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6091 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6094 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6095 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6096 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6097 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6101 @node PostScript Files
6102 @subsection PostScript Files
6108 @kindex X p (Summary)
6109 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6110 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6113 @kindex X P (Summary)
6114 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6115 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6116 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6119 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6120 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6121 View the current PostScript series
6122 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6125 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6126 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6127 View and save the current PostScript series
6128 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6133 @subsection Other Files
6137 @kindex X o (Summary)
6138 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6139 Save the current series
6140 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6143 @kindex X b (Summary)
6144 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6145 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6146 doesn't really work yet.
6150 @node Decoding Variables
6151 @subsection Decoding Variables
6153 Adjective, not verb.
6156 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6157 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6158 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6162 @node Rule Variables
6163 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6164 @cindex rule variables
6166 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6167 variables are of the form
6170 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6177 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6178 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6180 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6181 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6184 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6185 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6188 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6189 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6190 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6191 user and default view rules.
6193 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6194 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6195 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6200 @node Other Decode Variables
6201 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6204 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6206 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6207 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6208 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6209 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6210 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6214 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6215 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6218 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6219 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6220 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6223 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6224 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6225 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6226 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6227 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6230 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6231 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6232 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6234 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6235 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6236 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6237 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6238 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6241 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6242 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6243 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6245 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6246 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6247 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6248 looking for files to display.
6250 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6251 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6252 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6255 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6256 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6257 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6260 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6261 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6262 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6265 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6266 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6267 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6270 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6271 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6272 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6273 decoded articles as unread.
6275 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6276 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6277 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6278 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6280 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6281 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6282 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6284 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6285 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6287 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6288 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6289 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6290 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6292 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6293 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6294 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6295 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6296 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6297 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
6298 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6299 simply dropped them.
6304 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6305 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6309 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6310 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6311 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6312 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6313 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6314 for you when you post the article.
6316 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6317 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6318 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6319 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6321 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6322 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6323 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6324 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6325 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6326 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6327 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6329 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6330 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6331 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6332 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6333 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6334 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6335 Default is @code{t}.
6341 @subsection Viewing Files
6342 @cindex viewing files
6343 @cindex pseudo-articles
6345 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6346 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6347 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6348 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6349 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6350 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6351 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6353 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6354 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6355 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6356 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6358 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6359 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6360 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6362 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6363 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6364 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6365 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6366 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6368 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6369 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6370 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6371 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6372 a list of parameters to that command.
6374 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6375 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6376 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6378 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6379 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6380 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6383 @node Article Treatment
6384 @section Article Treatment
6386 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6387 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6388 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6389 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6390 these articles easier.
6393 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6394 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6395 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6396 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6397 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6398 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6399 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6400 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6404 @node Article Highlighting
6405 @subsection Article Highlighting
6406 @cindex highlighting
6408 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6409 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6414 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6415 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6416 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6417 Do much highlighting of the current article
6418 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6419 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6422 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6423 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6424 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6425 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6426 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6427 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
6428 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
6429 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6430 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6431 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6432 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6433 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6436 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6437 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6438 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6440 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6443 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6445 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6446 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6447 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6449 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6450 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6451 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6453 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6454 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6455 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6457 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6458 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6459 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6460 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6461 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6462 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6464 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6465 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6466 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6468 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6469 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6470 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6472 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6473 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6474 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6475 that it's a citation.
6477 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6478 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6479 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6481 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6482 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6483 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6485 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6486 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6487 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6488 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6494 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6495 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6496 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6497 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6498 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6499 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6500 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6501 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6506 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
6509 @node Article Fontisizing
6510 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6512 @cindex article emphasis
6514 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6515 @kindex W e (Summary)
6516 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6517 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
6518 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6519 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6521 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6522 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6523 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6524 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6525 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6526 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6527 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6528 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6532 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6533 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6534 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6543 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6544 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6545 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6546 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6547 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6548 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6549 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6550 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6551 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6552 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6553 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6554 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6555 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6557 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6558 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6559 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6563 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6566 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
6568 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
6569 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
6570 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
6571 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
6573 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
6576 @node Article Hiding
6577 @subsection Article Hiding
6578 @cindex article hiding
6580 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6581 too much cruft in most articles.
6586 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6587 @findex gnus-article-hide
6588 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6589 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6590 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6593 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6594 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
6595 Toggle hiding of headers (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6599 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6600 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6601 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6602 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6605 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6606 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6607 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6611 @kindex W W l (Summary)
6612 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
6613 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
6614 Hide list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
6615 are strings some list servers add to the beginning of all @code{Subject}
6616 headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}.
6620 @item gnus-list-identifiers
6621 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
6622 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
6623 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
6628 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6629 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6630 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6631 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6632 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6633 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
6634 articles that have signatures in them do:
6636 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
6638 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
6640 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
6641 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
6643 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6646 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
6651 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6652 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6653 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6654 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6657 @kindex W W B (Summary)
6658 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
6661 @cindex stripping advertisments
6662 @cindex advertisments
6663 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
6664 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
6665 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
6666 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
6667 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
6668 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
6669 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
6670 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
6671 signature should be removed.
6674 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6675 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6676 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6677 customizing the hiding:
6681 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6682 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6683 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6684 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6685 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6686 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6687 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6692 Starting point of the hidden text.
6694 Ending point of the hidden text.
6696 Number of characters in the hidden region.
6698 Number of lines of hidden text.
6701 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6702 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6703 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
6704 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
6705 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
6710 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6711 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6713 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6714 following two variables:
6717 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6718 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6719 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6720 50), hide the cited text.
6722 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6723 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6724 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6729 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6730 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6731 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6732 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6733 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6734 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6738 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6739 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6740 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6742 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6743 citation customization.
6745 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
6749 @node Article Washing
6750 @subsection Article Washing
6752 @cindex article washing
6754 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6755 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6757 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6758 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6764 @kindex W l (Summary)
6765 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6766 Remove page breaks from the current article
6767 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
6771 @kindex W r (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6773 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6774 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6775 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6776 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6777 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6779 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6780 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6781 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6782 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6785 @kindex W t (Summary)
6786 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6787 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6788 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6791 @kindex W v (Summary)
6792 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6793 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6794 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6797 @kindex W m (Summary)
6798 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6799 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6800 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6803 @kindex W o (Summary)
6804 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6805 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6808 @kindex W d (Summary)
6809 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6810 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
6812 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
6814 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
6815 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
6816 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
6817 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
6821 @kindex W w (Summary)
6822 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6823 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
6825 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6829 @kindex W Q (Summary)
6830 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
6831 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
6834 @kindex W C (Summary)
6835 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
6836 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
6837 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
6840 @kindex W c (Summary)
6841 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6842 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
6843 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
6844 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
6845 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6848 @kindex W f (Summary)
6850 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6851 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6852 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6853 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6859 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6860 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6861 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6862 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6863 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6864 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6865 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6866 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6867 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6868 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6869 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6870 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6871 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6872 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6876 @kindex W b (Summary)
6877 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6878 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6879 @xref{Article Buttons}.
6882 @kindex W B (Summary)
6883 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6884 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6885 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6888 @kindex W W H (Summary)
6889 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
6890 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
6891 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
6894 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6895 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6896 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6897 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6900 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6901 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6902 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6903 lines with a single empty line.
6904 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6907 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6908 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6909 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6910 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6913 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6914 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6915 Do all the three commands above
6916 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6919 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6920 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6921 Remove all blank lines
6922 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6925 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6926 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6927 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6928 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6931 @kindex W E e (Summary)
6932 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
6933 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
6934 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
6938 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
6941 @node Article Buttons
6942 @subsection Article Buttons
6945 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6946 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6947 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6948 button on these references.
6950 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6951 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6952 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6957 @item gnus-button-alist
6958 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6959 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6962 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6968 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6969 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6970 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6973 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6974 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6975 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6978 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6979 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6980 avoid false matches.
6983 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6986 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6987 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6991 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6994 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6997 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6998 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6999 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7000 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7001 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7004 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7007 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7009 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7010 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7011 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7012 default values of the variables above.
7014 @item gnus-article-button-face
7015 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7016 Face used on buttons.
7018 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7019 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7020 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7024 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7028 @subsection Article Date
7030 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7031 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7032 when the article was sent.
7037 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7038 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7039 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7040 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7043 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7044 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7046 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7047 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7050 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7051 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7052 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7055 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7056 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7057 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7058 @findex format-time-string
7059 Display the date using a user-defined format
7060 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7061 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7062 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7063 for a list of possible format specs.
7066 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7067 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7068 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7069 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7070 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7071 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7074 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7077 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7078 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7081 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7082 into wonderful absurdities.
7084 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7087 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7090 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7091 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7095 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7096 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7097 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7098 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7099 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7100 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7101 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7105 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7106 preferred format automatically.
7109 @node Article Signature
7110 @subsection Article Signature
7112 @cindex article signature
7114 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7115 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7116 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7117 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7118 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7119 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7120 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7121 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7122 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7125 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7126 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7127 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7128 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7129 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7130 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7131 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7132 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7135 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7138 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7139 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7140 signature when displaying articles.
7144 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7147 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7150 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7151 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7153 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7154 in question is not a signature.
7157 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7158 listed above. Here's an example:
7161 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7162 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7165 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7166 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7167 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7168 signature after all.
7171 @node Article Miscellania
7172 @subsection Article Miscellania
7176 @kindex A t (Summary)
7177 @findex gnus-article-babel
7178 Translate the article from one language to another
7179 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7185 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7186 @cindex MIME decoding
7188 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7189 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7195 @kindex K v (Summary)
7196 View the @sc{mime} part.
7199 @kindex K o (Summary)
7200 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7203 @kindex K c (Summary)
7204 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7207 @kindex K e (Summary)
7208 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7211 @kindex K i (Summary)
7212 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7215 @kindex K | (Summary)
7216 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7219 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7224 @kindex K b (Summary)
7225 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in from of them.
7228 @kindex K m (Summary)
7229 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7230 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7231 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7232 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7233 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7236 @kindex X m (Summary)
7237 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7238 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7239 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7240 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7243 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7244 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7245 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7246 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7249 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7250 Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
7251 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7254 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7255 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7256 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7258 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7259 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7260 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7261 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7262 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7263 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7266 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7267 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7268 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7275 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7276 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7277 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7278 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7281 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7284 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7288 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7289 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7290 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7291 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7292 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7294 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7295 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7296 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7297 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7298 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7299 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7300 save all jpegs into some directory).
7302 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7305 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7306 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7308 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7309 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7310 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7311 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7312 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7315 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7316 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7317 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7326 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7327 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7328 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7329 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7330 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7331 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7332 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7334 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7335 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7336 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7337 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7339 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7340 aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7341 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7342 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7343 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7344 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7345 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7346 something some agents insist on having in there.
7352 @cindex coding system aliases
7353 @cindex preferred charset
7355 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
7357 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
7358 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
7361 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
7362 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
7365 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
7366 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
7368 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
7371 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
7374 This will almost do the right thing.
7376 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
7380 (codepage-setup 1251)
7381 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
7385 @node Article Commands
7386 @section Article Commands
7393 @kindex A P (Summary)
7394 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
7395 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
7396 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
7397 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
7398 run just before printing the buffer.
7403 @node Summary Sorting
7404 @section Summary Sorting
7405 @cindex summary sorting
7407 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
7408 can't really see why you'd want that.
7413 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
7414 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
7415 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
7418 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
7419 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
7420 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
7423 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
7424 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
7425 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
7428 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
7429 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
7430 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
7433 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
7434 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
7435 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
7438 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
7439 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
7440 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
7443 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
7444 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
7445 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
7448 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
7449 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
7450 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
7451 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
7452 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
7456 @node Finding the Parent
7457 @section Finding the Parent
7458 @cindex parent articles
7459 @cindex referring articles
7464 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
7465 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
7466 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
7467 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
7468 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
7469 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
7470 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
7471 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
7472 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
7474 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
7475 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
7476 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
7477 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
7478 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
7482 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
7483 @kindex A R (Summary)
7484 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
7485 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
7488 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
7489 @kindex A T (Summary)
7490 Display the full thread where the current article appears
7491 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
7492 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
7493 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
7494 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
7495 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
7496 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
7498 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
7499 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
7500 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
7501 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
7502 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
7503 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
7506 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
7507 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
7509 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
7510 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
7511 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
7512 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
7513 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
7514 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
7515 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
7518 The current select method will be used when fetching by
7519 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
7520 by giving this command a prefix.
7522 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
7523 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
7524 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
7525 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
7526 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
7527 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
7530 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
7531 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
7532 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
7535 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
7536 then ask Deja if that fails:
7539 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
7541 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
7544 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
7545 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
7546 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
7547 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
7548 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
7549 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
7552 @node Alternative Approaches
7553 @section Alternative Approaches
7555 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
7556 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
7559 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
7560 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
7565 @subsection Pick and Read
7566 @cindex pick and read
7568 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
7569 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
7570 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
7571 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
7573 @findex gnus-pick-mode
7574 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
7575 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
7576 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
7577 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
7578 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
7580 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
7585 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
7586 Pick the article or thread on the current line
7587 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7588 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
7589 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
7590 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
7591 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
7592 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
7595 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
7596 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
7597 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
7598 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
7602 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
7603 Unpick the thread or article
7604 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7605 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
7606 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
7607 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
7608 the thread or article at that line.
7612 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
7613 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
7614 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
7615 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
7616 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
7617 will still be visible when you are reading.
7621 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
7622 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
7623 which is mapped to the same function
7624 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
7626 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
7629 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7632 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
7633 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
7635 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
7636 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
7637 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
7639 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
7640 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
7641 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
7642 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
7643 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
7644 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
7645 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
7649 @subsection Binary Groups
7650 @cindex binary groups
7652 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7653 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7654 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7655 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7656 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7657 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7658 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7661 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7662 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7663 command, when you have turned on this mode
7664 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7666 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7667 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7671 @section Tree Display
7674 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7675 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
7676 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7677 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7680 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7683 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7684 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7685 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7687 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7688 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7689 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7690 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7691 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7693 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7694 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7695 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7696 default is @code{modeline}.
7698 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7699 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7700 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7701 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7702 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7703 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7704 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7710 The name of the poster.
7712 The @code{From} header.
7714 The number of the article.
7716 The opening bracket.
7718 The closing bracket.
7723 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7725 Variables related to the display are:
7728 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7729 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7730 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7731 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
7732 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
7733 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7735 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7736 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7737 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7738 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7742 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7743 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7744 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
7745 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
7746 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7747 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7748 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7749 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7750 other windows displayed next to it.
7752 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7753 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7754 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7755 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7756 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7757 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7758 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7762 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7765 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7775 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7779 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7780 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7782 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7784 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7789 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7790 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7791 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7794 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7795 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7796 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7797 (gnus-add-configuration
7801 (summary 0.75 point)
7806 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7809 @node Mail Group Commands
7810 @section Mail Group Commands
7811 @cindex mail group commands
7813 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7814 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7816 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7817 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7822 @kindex B e (Summary)
7823 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7824 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7825 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7828 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7829 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7830 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7831 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7832 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7833 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7836 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7837 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7838 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7839 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7840 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7841 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7844 @kindex B m (Summary)
7846 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7847 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
7848 Move the article from one mail group to another
7849 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
7850 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
7853 @kindex B c (Summary)
7855 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7856 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7857 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7858 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
7859 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
7862 @kindex B B (Summary)
7863 @cindex crosspost mail
7864 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7865 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7866 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7867 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7868 be properly updated.
7871 @kindex B i (Summary)
7872 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7873 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7874 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7875 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7878 @kindex B r (Summary)
7879 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7880 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7881 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7882 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7883 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7884 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
7885 (which is the default).
7889 @kindex B w (Summary)
7891 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7892 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7893 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7894 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7895 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7896 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7899 @kindex B q (Summary)
7900 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7901 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7902 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7903 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7906 @kindex B t (Summary)
7907 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7908 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7909 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7912 @kindex B p (Summary)
7913 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7914 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7915 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7916 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7917 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7918 article from your news server (or rather, from
7919 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7920 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7921 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7922 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7923 just not have arrived yet.
7927 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7928 @cindex moving articles
7929 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
7930 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7931 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7932 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7933 suggestions you find reasonable.
7936 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7937 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7938 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7939 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7943 @node Various Summary Stuff
7944 @section Various Summary Stuff
7947 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7948 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7949 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7950 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7954 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7955 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7956 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7958 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7959 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7960 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7961 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7962 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7963 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7966 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7967 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7968 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7969 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7970 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7972 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7973 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7974 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
7977 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7978 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7979 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7980 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7981 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7982 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7983 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
7984 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7985 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7986 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7991 @node Summary Group Information
7992 @subsection Summary Group Information
7997 @kindex H f (Summary)
7998 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7999 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8000 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8001 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8002 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8003 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8004 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8005 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8006 be used for fetching the file.
8009 @kindex H d (Summary)
8010 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8011 Give a brief description of the current group
8012 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8013 rereading the description from the server.
8016 @kindex H h (Summary)
8017 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8018 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8019 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8022 @kindex H i (Summary)
8023 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8024 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8028 @node Searching for Articles
8029 @subsection Searching for Articles
8034 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8035 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8036 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8037 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8040 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8041 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8042 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8043 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8047 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8048 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
8049 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8050 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
8054 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8055 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8056 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8057 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8060 @node Summary Generation Commands
8061 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8066 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8067 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8068 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8071 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8072 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8073 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8074 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8079 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8080 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8086 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8087 @kindex A D (Summary)
8088 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8089 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8090 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8091 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8092 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8093 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8094 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8095 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8099 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8100 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8101 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8102 several documents into one biiig group
8103 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8104 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8105 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8106 command understands the process/prefix convention
8107 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8110 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8111 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8112 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8113 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8114 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8115 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8119 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8120 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8121 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8124 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8125 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8126 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8127 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8130 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8131 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8132 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8133 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8138 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8139 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8140 @cindex summary exit
8141 @cindex exiting groups
8143 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8144 group and return you to the group buffer.
8150 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8152 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8153 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8154 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8155 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8156 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8157 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8158 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8159 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8160 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8161 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8162 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8166 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8168 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8169 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8170 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8174 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8176 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8177 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8178 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8179 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8182 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8183 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8184 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8185 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8188 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8189 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8190 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8191 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8194 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8195 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8196 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8197 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8198 all articles, both read and unread.
8202 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8203 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8204 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8205 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8206 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8207 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8208 articles, both read and unread.
8211 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8212 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8213 Exit the group and go to the next group
8214 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8217 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8218 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8219 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8220 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8223 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8224 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8225 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8226 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8227 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8228 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8231 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8232 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
8235 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8236 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8237 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8238 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8239 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8240 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8241 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8242 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8243 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8244 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8245 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8246 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8248 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8250 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8251 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8252 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8253 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8254 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8255 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8256 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8257 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8258 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8261 @node Crosspost Handling
8262 @section Crosspost Handling
8266 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8267 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8268 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8269 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8270 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8271 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8274 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8275 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8276 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8277 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8278 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8280 @cindex cross-posting
8283 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8284 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8285 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8286 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8287 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8288 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8289 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8290 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8291 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8292 the cross reference mechanism.
8294 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8295 @cindex overview.fmt
8296 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8297 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8298 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8299 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8300 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8301 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8304 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8305 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
8306 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
8311 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
8314 @node Duplicate Suppression
8315 @section Duplicate Suppression
8317 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
8318 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
8319 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
8320 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
8325 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
8326 is evil and not very common.
8329 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
8330 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
8333 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
8334 different @sc{nntp} servers.
8337 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
8340 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
8341 well, but these four are the most common situations.
8343 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
8344 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
8345 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
8346 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
8347 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
8348 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
8349 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
8352 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
8353 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
8354 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
8355 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
8356 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
8360 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
8361 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
8362 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
8364 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
8365 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
8366 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
8367 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
8368 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
8369 session are suppressed.
8371 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
8372 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
8373 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
8374 suppression list. The default is 10000.
8376 @item gnus-duplicate-file
8377 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
8378 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
8379 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
8382 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
8383 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
8384 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
8385 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
8386 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
8387 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
8388 to you to figure out, I think.
8391 @node The Article Buffer
8392 @chapter The Article Buffer
8393 @cindex article buffer
8395 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
8396 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
8397 tell gnus otherwise.
8400 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
8401 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
8402 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
8403 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
8404 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
8408 @node Hiding Headers
8409 @section Hiding Headers
8410 @cindex hiding headers
8411 @cindex deleting headers
8413 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
8414 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
8416 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
8417 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
8418 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
8419 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
8420 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
8421 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
8422 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
8423 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
8424 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
8426 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
8430 @item gnus-visible-headers
8431 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
8432 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
8433 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
8434 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
8436 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
8437 the article and the subject, you'd say:
8440 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
8443 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
8446 @item gnus-ignored-headers
8447 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
8448 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
8449 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
8450 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
8451 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
8453 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
8454 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
8457 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
8460 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
8463 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
8464 variable will have no effect.
8468 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
8469 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
8470 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
8471 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
8472 the headers are to be displayed.
8474 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
8475 and then the subject, you might say something like:
8478 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
8481 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
8482 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
8484 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8485 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
8486 You can hide further boring headers by setting
8487 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
8488 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
8489 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
8490 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
8493 These conditions are:
8496 Remove all empty headers.
8498 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
8499 @code{Newsgroups} header.
8501 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
8504 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
8507 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
8510 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
8512 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
8515 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
8518 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
8519 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
8522 This is also the default value for this variable.
8526 @section Using @sc{mime}
8529 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
8530 while people stand around yawning.
8532 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
8533 while all newsreaders die of fear.
8535 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
8536 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
8537 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
8539 @vindex gnus-show-mime
8540 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
8541 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
8542 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
8543 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
8544 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
8545 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
8546 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
8547 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
8548 existed yet, sorry).
8550 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
8551 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
8552 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
8553 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
8554 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
8555 buffer. These can't be avoided.
8557 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
8558 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
8559 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
8560 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
8561 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
8562 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
8563 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
8564 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
8565 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
8568 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
8570 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
8571 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
8572 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
8573 buffer when there are nobody else.
8575 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
8578 @node Customizing Articles
8579 @section Customizing Articles
8580 @cindex article customization
8582 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
8583 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
8584 called automatically when you select the articles.
8586 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
8587 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
8588 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
8589 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
8591 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
8592 for sensible values.
8596 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
8599 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
8602 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
8605 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
8608 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
8612 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
8613 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
8614 regexps in the list.
8617 A list where the first element is not a string:
8619 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
8620 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
8621 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
8625 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
8629 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
8634 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
8635 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
8636 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
8637 considered to contain just a single part.
8639 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
8640 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
8641 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
8642 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
8643 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
8644 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
8645 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
8647 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
8648 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
8649 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
8650 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
8653 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
8654 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
8655 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
8656 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
8657 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
8658 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
8659 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
8660 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
8661 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
8662 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
8663 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
8664 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
8665 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
8666 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
8667 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
8668 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
8669 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
8670 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
8671 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
8672 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
8673 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
8674 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
8675 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
8676 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
8677 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
8678 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
8679 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
8680 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
8681 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
8682 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
8683 @item gnus-treat-translate
8684 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset
8687 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
8688 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
8689 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
8690 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
8691 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
8695 @node Article Keymap
8696 @section Article Keymap
8698 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
8699 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
8700 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
8701 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
8704 A few additional keystrokes are available:
8709 @kindex SPACE (Article)
8710 @findex gnus-article-next-page
8711 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
8714 @kindex DEL (Article)
8715 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
8716 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
8719 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
8720 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
8721 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
8722 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
8723 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
8726 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
8727 @findex gnus-article-mail
8728 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
8729 given a prefix, include the mail.
8733 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
8734 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
8735 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
8739 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
8740 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
8741 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
8744 @kindex TAB (Article)
8745 @findex gnus-article-next-button
8746 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
8747 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
8750 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
8751 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
8752 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8758 @section Misc Article
8762 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8763 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8764 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8765 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8768 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
8769 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
8771 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
8772 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
8774 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8775 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8776 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8777 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8778 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8779 the contents of the article buffer.
8781 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8782 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8783 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8785 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8786 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8787 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8788 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8790 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8791 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8792 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8793 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8794 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
8799 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8800 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8803 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
8806 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8808 @item gnus-break-pages
8809 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8810 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8811 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8812 paging will not be done.
8814 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8815 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8816 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8821 @node Composing Messages
8822 @chapter Composing Messages
8823 @cindex composing messages
8826 @cindex sending mail
8831 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8832 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8833 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
8834 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
8835 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
8836 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
8839 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8840 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8841 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8842 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8843 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8844 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8845 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8846 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8849 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8850 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8856 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8859 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8860 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8861 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8862 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8864 @item gnus-add-to-list
8865 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8866 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8867 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8875 Variables for composing news articles:
8878 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8879 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8880 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8881 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8882 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8883 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8884 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8885 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8886 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want gnus to keep a history
8889 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8890 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8891 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8892 file. It is 1000 by default.
8897 @node Posting Server
8898 @section Posting Server
8900 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8901 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8903 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8905 @vindex gnus-post-method
8907 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
8908 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8909 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8910 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8911 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8914 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8917 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8918 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8919 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8920 the ``current'' server for posting.
8922 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8923 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8925 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8926 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8929 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8930 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8931 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8936 @section Mail and Post
8938 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8942 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8943 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8944 @cindex mailing lists
8946 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8947 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8948 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8949 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8950 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8951 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8952 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8953 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8954 still a pain, though.
8958 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8959 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8960 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8963 @findex ispell-message
8965 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8969 @node Archived Messages
8970 @section Archived Messages
8971 @cindex archived messages
8972 @cindex sent messages
8974 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8975 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8976 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8977 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8980 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8981 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
8982 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8986 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8987 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8988 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8989 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8992 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8993 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8994 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8995 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8998 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8999 '(nnfolder "archive"
9000 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9001 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9002 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9005 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9007 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9008 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9009 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9011 This variable can be used to do the following:
9015 Messages will be saved in that group.
9016 @item a list of strings
9017 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9018 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9019 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9021 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9026 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9028 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9031 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9033 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9036 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9038 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9039 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9040 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9041 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9046 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9047 '((if (message-news-p)
9052 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9053 messages in one file per month:
9056 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9057 '((if (message-news-p)
9059 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9062 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9063 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9065 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9066 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9067 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9068 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9069 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9070 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9071 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9072 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9073 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9074 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9076 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9077 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9078 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9079 this will disable archiving.
9082 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9083 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9084 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9085 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9086 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9089 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9090 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9091 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9094 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9095 but the latter is the preferred method.
9099 @node Posting Styles
9100 @section Posting Styles
9101 @cindex posting styles
9104 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9106 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9107 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9108 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9111 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9112 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9113 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9114 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9115 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9120 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9121 (organization "What me?"))
9123 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9124 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9125 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9128 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9129 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9130 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9131 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9132 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9133 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9134 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9135 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9137 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9138 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9139 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9140 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9141 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9142 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9143 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9144 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9147 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9148 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9149 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9150 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9151 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9152 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9153 article. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated,
9154 and the result is thrown away.
9156 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9157 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9158 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9159 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9160 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9161 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9163 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9164 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9165 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9167 @findex message-mail-p
9168 @findex message-news-p
9170 So here's a new example:
9173 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9175 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9177 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9178 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9180 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9181 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9182 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9184 (signature my-news-signature))
9185 ((header "From.*To" "larsi.*org")
9186 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9187 ((posting-from-work-p)
9188 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9189 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9190 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9191 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9193 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9201 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9202 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9203 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9204 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9205 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9207 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9208 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9209 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9210 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9211 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9215 @vindex nndraft-directory
9216 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9217 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9218 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9219 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9220 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9221 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9223 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9224 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9227 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9228 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9229 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9230 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9231 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9232 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9233 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9234 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9235 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9236 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9237 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9238 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9239 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9240 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9242 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9243 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9244 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9246 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9248 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9249 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9250 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9252 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9255 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9256 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
9257 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
9258 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
9259 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
9260 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
9261 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
9264 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
9265 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
9266 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
9269 @node Rejected Articles
9270 @section Rejected Articles
9271 @cindex rejected articles
9273 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
9274 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
9275 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
9276 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
9278 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
9279 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
9280 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
9281 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
9282 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
9284 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
9285 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
9286 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
9289 @node Select Methods
9290 @chapter Select Methods
9291 @cindex foreign groups
9292 @cindex select methods
9294 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
9295 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
9296 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
9297 personal mail group.
9299 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
9300 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
9301 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
9302 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
9303 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
9304 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
9306 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
9307 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
9309 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
9312 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
9313 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
9314 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
9315 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
9316 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
9318 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
9321 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
9322 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
9323 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
9324 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
9325 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
9326 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
9327 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
9331 @node The Server Buffer
9332 @section The Server Buffer
9334 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
9335 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
9336 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
9337 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
9338 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
9339 backend represents a virtual server.
9341 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
9342 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
9343 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
9344 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
9346 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
9347 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
9348 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
9349 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
9350 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
9351 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
9352 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
9354 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
9355 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
9358 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
9359 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
9360 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
9361 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
9362 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
9363 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
9364 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
9367 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
9368 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
9371 @node Server Buffer Format
9372 @subsection Server Buffer Format
9373 @cindex server buffer format
9375 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
9376 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
9377 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
9378 variable, with some simple extensions:
9383 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
9386 The name of this server.
9389 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
9392 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
9395 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
9396 The mode line can also be customized by using the
9397 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
9398 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
9408 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
9411 @node Server Commands
9412 @subsection Server Commands
9413 @cindex server commands
9419 @findex gnus-server-add-server
9420 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
9424 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
9425 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
9428 @kindex SPACE (Server)
9429 @findex gnus-server-read-server
9430 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
9434 @findex gnus-server-exit
9435 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
9439 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
9440 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
9444 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
9445 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
9449 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
9450 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
9454 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
9455 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
9459 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
9460 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
9461 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
9466 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
9467 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
9468 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
9469 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
9474 @node Example Methods
9475 @subsection Example Methods
9477 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
9480 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
9483 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
9489 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
9490 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
9493 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
9494 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
9496 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
9497 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
9501 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
9504 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
9505 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
9507 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
9508 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
9509 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
9513 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
9516 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
9519 Here's the method for a public spool:
9523 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
9524 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
9527 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
9528 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
9529 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
9530 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
9531 should probably look something like this:
9535 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
9536 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
9537 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
9538 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
9539 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
9542 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
9543 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
9544 server that would look something like this:
9548 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
9549 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
9550 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
9551 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
9552 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
9553 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
9556 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
9557 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
9558 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
9559 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
9562 @node Creating a Virtual Server
9563 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
9565 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
9566 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
9568 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
9569 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
9570 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
9572 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
9574 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
9575 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
9576 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
9577 will contain the following:
9587 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
9588 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
9589 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
9592 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
9593 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
9594 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
9597 @node Server Variables
9598 @subsection Server Variables
9600 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
9601 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
9602 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
9603 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
9604 won't change the "derived" variables.
9606 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
9607 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
9608 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
9609 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
9610 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
9611 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
9612 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
9613 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
9614 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
9618 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
9619 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
9620 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
9624 @node Servers and Methods
9625 @subsection Servers and Methods
9627 Wherever you would normally use a select method
9628 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
9629 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
9630 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
9634 @node Unavailable Servers
9635 @subsection Unavailable Servers
9637 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
9638 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
9639 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
9640 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
9641 actually the case or not.
9643 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
9644 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
9645 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
9646 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
9647 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
9648 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
9649 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
9650 it will regard that server as ``down''.
9652 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
9653 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
9655 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
9656 with the following commands:
9662 @findex gnus-server-open-server
9663 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
9664 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
9668 @findex gnus-server-close-server
9669 Close the connection (if any) to the server
9670 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
9674 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
9675 Mark the current server as unreachable
9676 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
9679 @kindex M-o (Server)
9680 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
9681 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
9682 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
9685 @kindex M-c (Server)
9686 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
9687 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
9688 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
9692 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
9693 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
9694 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
9700 @section Getting News
9701 @cindex reading news
9702 @cindex news backends
9704 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
9705 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
9706 or it can read from a local spool.
9709 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
9710 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
9715 @subsection @sc{nntp}
9718 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
9719 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
9720 server as the, uhm, address.
9722 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
9723 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
9724 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
9725 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9727 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
9728 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
9729 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
9731 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
9736 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
9737 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
9738 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
9740 @cindex authentification
9741 @cindex nntp authentification
9742 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9743 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
9744 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
9745 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
9746 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
9747 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
9748 present in this hook.
9750 @item nntp-authinfo-function
9751 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
9752 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9753 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
9754 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
9755 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
9756 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
9757 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
9758 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
9759 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
9760 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
9761 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
9765 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
9768 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
9769 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
9770 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
9771 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
9772 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9777 Here's an example file:
9780 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9781 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9784 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9785 have to be first, for instance.
9787 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9788 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9789 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9790 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9791 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9792 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9793 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9795 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9796 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9802 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9803 previously mentioned.
9805 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9807 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9808 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9809 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9810 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9811 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9814 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9818 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9820 The default value is
9823 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9824 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9827 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9828 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9830 @item nntp-maximum-request
9831 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9832 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9833 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9834 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9835 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9836 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9837 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9839 @item nntp-connection-timeout
9840 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9841 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9842 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9843 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9844 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9845 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9846 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9847 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9848 no timeouts are done.
9850 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9851 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9852 @c @cindex PPP connections
9853 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9854 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9855 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9856 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9857 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9858 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9859 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9860 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9861 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9862 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9864 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9865 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9866 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9867 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9870 @item nntp-server-hook
9871 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9872 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9875 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9876 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9877 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9878 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9879 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9880 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9881 functions are supplied:
9884 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9885 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9888 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9889 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9890 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9893 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9897 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9898 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9899 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9900 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9902 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9903 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9904 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9906 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9907 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9908 User name on the remote system.
9912 @item nntp-open-telnet
9913 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9914 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9916 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9919 @item nntp-telnet-command
9920 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9921 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9923 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9924 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9925 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9927 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9928 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9929 User name for log in on the remote system.
9931 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9932 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9933 Password to use when logging in.
9935 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9936 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9937 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9940 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9941 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9942 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9943 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9945 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9946 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9947 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9948 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9949 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9953 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9954 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9955 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9956 you must have SSLay installed
9957 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9958 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9959 define a server as follows:
9962 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9964 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9966 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9967 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9968 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9969 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9974 @item nntp-end-of-line
9975 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9976 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9977 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9978 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9980 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9981 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9982 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9986 @vindex nntp-address
9987 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9989 @item nntp-port-number
9990 @vindex nntp-port-number
9991 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9994 @item nntp-buggy-select
9995 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9996 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9998 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9999 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10000 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10001 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10004 @item nntp-xover-commands
10005 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10008 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10009 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10013 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10014 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10015 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10016 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10017 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10018 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10019 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10020 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10021 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10022 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10023 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10025 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10026 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10027 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10029 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10030 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10031 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10032 server closes connection.
10034 @item nntp-record-commands
10035 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10036 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10037 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10038 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10039 that doesn't seem to work.
10045 @subsection News Spool
10049 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10050 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10051 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10054 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10055 anything else) as the address.
10057 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10058 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10059 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10060 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10064 @item nnspool-inews-program
10065 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10066 Program used to post an article.
10068 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10069 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10070 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10072 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10073 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10074 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10075 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10077 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10078 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10079 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10080 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10082 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10083 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10084 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10086 @item nnspool-active-file
10087 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10088 The path to the active file.
10090 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10091 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10092 The path to the group descriptions file.
10094 @item nnspool-history-file
10095 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10096 The path to the news history file.
10098 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10099 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10100 The path to the active date file.
10102 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10103 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10104 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10107 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10108 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10110 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10111 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10112 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10118 @section Getting Mail
10119 @cindex reading mail
10122 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10126 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10127 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10128 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10129 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10130 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10131 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10132 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10133 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10134 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10135 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10136 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10137 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10138 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10142 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10143 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10145 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10146 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10147 of a culture shock.
10149 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10150 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10152 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10153 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10154 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10155 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10157 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10159 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10160 deleted? How awful!
10162 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10163 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10164 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10165 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10168 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10169 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10170 they want to treat a message.
10172 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
10173 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
10174 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
10175 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
10176 archived somewhere else.
10178 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
10179 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
10180 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
10181 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
10182 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
10184 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
10185 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
10186 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
10188 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
10189 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
10192 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
10193 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
10194 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
10195 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
10196 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
10198 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
10199 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
10200 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
10201 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
10202 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
10203 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
10207 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
10208 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
10210 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
10211 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
10212 and things will happen automatically.
10214 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
10215 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
10218 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
10219 '((nnml "private")))
10222 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
10223 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
10224 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
10225 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
10226 like any other group.
10228 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
10231 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10232 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10233 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10237 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
10238 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
10239 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
10242 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
10243 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
10244 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
10247 @node Splitting Mail
10248 @subsection Splitting Mail
10249 @cindex splitting mail
10250 @cindex mail splitting
10252 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
10253 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
10254 to be split into groups.
10257 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10258 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10259 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10260 ("mail.other" "")))
10263 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
10264 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
10265 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
10266 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
10267 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
10268 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
10269 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
10272 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
10275 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
10276 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
10277 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
10278 mail belongs in that group.
10280 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
10281 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
10282 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
10283 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
10284 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
10285 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
10287 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
10288 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
10289 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
10290 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
10291 thinks should carry this mail message.
10293 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
10294 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
10295 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
10296 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
10298 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
10299 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
10300 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
10301 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
10302 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
10304 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
10307 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
10308 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
10309 links. If that's the case for you, set
10310 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
10311 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
10313 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
10314 @kindex nnmail-split-history
10315 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
10316 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
10318 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
10319 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
10320 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
10321 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
10322 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
10323 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
10324 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
10325 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
10326 month's rent money.
10330 @subsection Mail Sources
10332 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
10333 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
10337 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
10338 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
10339 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
10343 @node Mail Source Specifiers
10344 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
10346 @cindex mail server
10349 @cindex mail source
10351 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
10352 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
10357 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
10360 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
10361 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
10362 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
10365 The following mail source types are available:
10369 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
10375 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
10376 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
10379 An example file mail source:
10382 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
10385 Or using the default path:
10391 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
10392 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not you ange-ftp
10393 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
10396 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
10400 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
10403 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
10407 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
10410 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
10412 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
10415 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
10419 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
10420 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
10426 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
10430 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
10434 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
10435 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
10436 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
10437 predicate are considered.
10441 Script run before/after fetching mail.
10445 An example directory mail source:
10448 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
10453 Get mail from a POP server.
10459 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
10460 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
10463 The port number of the POP server. The default is @samp{pop3}.
10466 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
10470 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
10474 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
10475 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
10478 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
10481 The valid format specifier characters are:
10485 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
10486 included in this string.
10489 The name of the server.
10492 The port number of the server.
10495 The user name to use.
10498 The password to use.
10501 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
10502 corresponding keywords.
10505 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
10506 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
10509 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
10510 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
10513 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
10514 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
10517 @item :authentication
10518 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
10519 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
10524 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
10525 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
10527 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
10528 default user name, and default fetcher:
10534 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
10537 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
10538 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
10541 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
10544 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
10548 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
10549 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
10550 contains exactly one mail.
10556 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
10557 @samp{~/Maildir/new}.
10559 If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
10560 them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
10561 @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
10564 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
10565 from locking problems).
10569 Two example maildir mail sources:
10572 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/cur")
10576 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/new")
10580 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
10581 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
10582 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
10583 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
10589 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
10590 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
10593 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
10594 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
10597 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
10601 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
10605 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
10606 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
10607 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
10609 @item :authenticator
10610 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
10611 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
10612 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
10616 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
10617 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
10620 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
10621 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
10622 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
10623 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
10624 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
10625 complete list of predicates, see RFC2060 §6.4.4.
10628 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{Deleted}
10629 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{Seen} which
10630 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
10631 but more flags are defined in RFC2060 §2.3.2.
10634 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
10635 after finishing the fetch.
10639 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
10642 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4)
10646 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
10647 mail.yahoo.com, www.netaddress.com and www.my-deja.com.
10649 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on w3 (url) package, whose version of "WWW
10650 4.0pre.46 1999/10/01" or previous ones may not work.
10652 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
10658 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
10659 alternatives are @code{yahoo}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
10662 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
10666 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
10670 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
10671 folder after finishing the fetch.
10675 An example webmail source:
10678 (webmail :subtype 'yahoo :user "user-name" :password "secret")
10683 @item Common Keywords
10684 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
10690 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged.
10695 @node Mail Source Customization
10696 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
10698 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
10699 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
10703 @item mail-source-crash-box
10704 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
10705 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
10706 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
10708 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
10709 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
10710 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
10712 @item mail-source-directory
10713 @vindex mail-source-directory
10714 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
10715 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
10716 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
10719 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
10720 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
10721 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
10726 @node Fetching Mail
10727 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
10729 @vindex mail-sources
10730 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
10731 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
10732 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
10733 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
10735 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
10736 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
10739 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
10740 mail server, you'd say something like:
10745 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
10746 :password "secret")))
10749 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
10753 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
10754 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
10757 :password "secret")))
10761 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
10762 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
10763 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
10764 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
10765 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
10766 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
10770 @node Mail Backend Variables
10771 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
10773 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
10777 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
10778 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
10779 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
10780 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
10782 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
10783 @item nnmail-split-hook
10784 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
10785 @findex RFC1522 decoding
10786 @findex RFC2047 decoding
10787 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
10788 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
10789 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
10790 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
10791 in the buffer will show up in any files.
10792 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
10795 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
10796 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
10797 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
10798 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
10799 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
10800 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
10801 starting to handle the new mail) and
10802 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
10803 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
10804 default file modes the new mail files get:
10807 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
10808 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
10810 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
10811 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
10814 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
10815 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
10816 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
10817 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
10818 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
10819 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
10820 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
10822 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
10823 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
10824 @findex delete-file
10825 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
10827 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
10828 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
10829 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
10830 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
10831 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
10836 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
10837 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
10838 @cindex mail splitting
10839 @cindex fancy mail splitting
10841 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
10842 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
10843 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
10844 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
10845 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
10846 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
10848 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
10851 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
10852 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
10853 ;; from real errors.
10854 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
10856 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
10857 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
10858 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
10859 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
10860 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
10861 ;; Other mailing lists...
10862 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
10863 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
10864 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
10865 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
10866 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
10867 ;; message was really cross-posted.
10868 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
10869 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
10871 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
10872 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
10876 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
10877 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
10878 the five possible split syntaxes:
10883 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
10884 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
10888 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
10889 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
10890 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
10891 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
10892 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
10893 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
10894 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
10895 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
10898 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
10899 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
10900 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
10901 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
10904 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
10905 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
10908 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
10909 this message. Use with extreme caution.
10912 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
10913 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
10914 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
10915 function should return a @var{split}.
10918 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
10919 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
10920 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
10924 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
10928 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
10929 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
10930 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
10931 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
10932 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
10934 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
10935 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
10936 are expanded as specified by the variable
10937 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
10938 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
10941 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
10942 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
10943 when all this splitting is performed.
10945 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
10946 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
10947 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
10950 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
10953 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
10954 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
10956 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
10957 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
10958 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
10959 groupings 1 through 9.
10962 @node Group Mail Splitting
10963 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
10964 @cindex mail splitting
10965 @cindex group mail splitting
10967 @findex gnus-group-split
10968 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
10969 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
10970 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
10971 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
10972 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
10973 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
10974 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
10975 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
10977 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
10978 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
10979 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
10980 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
10982 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
10983 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
10984 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
10985 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
10986 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
10987 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
10988 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
10990 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
10991 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
10992 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
10993 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
10994 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
10995 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
10996 @code{gnus-group-split}.
10998 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
10999 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11000 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11001 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11002 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11003 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11004 that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
11005 there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
11006 @code{&} split and the catch-all group.
11008 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11013 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11014 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11016 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11017 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11018 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11019 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11021 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11024 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11025 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11026 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11029 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11030 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11031 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11035 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11036 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11037 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11041 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11044 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11045 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11046 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11047 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} may be the name
11048 of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
11049 @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11050 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11051 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11052 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11054 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11055 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11056 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11057 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11058 used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11059 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
11060 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
11061 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
11062 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
11064 @findex gnus-group-split-update
11065 However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
11066 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
11067 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
11068 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
11069 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
11072 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
11075 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
11076 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
11077 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
11078 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional),
11079 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
11082 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
11083 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
11084 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
11085 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
11087 @node Incorporating Old Mail
11088 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
11090 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
11091 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
11092 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
11095 Doing so can be quite easy.
11097 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
11098 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
11099 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
11100 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
11101 your @code{nnml} groups.
11107 Go to the group buffer.
11110 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
11111 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11114 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
11117 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
11118 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11121 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
11122 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
11125 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
11126 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
11127 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
11128 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
11129 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
11131 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
11132 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
11133 using the new mail backend.
11136 @node Expiring Mail
11137 @subsection Expiring Mail
11138 @cindex article expiry
11140 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
11141 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
11142 different approach to mail reading.
11144 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
11145 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
11146 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
11147 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
11148 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
11149 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
11152 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
11153 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
11154 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
11155 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
11156 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
11157 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
11158 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
11159 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
11161 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11162 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
11163 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
11164 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
11165 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
11166 column in the summary buffer.
11168 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
11169 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
11170 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
11171 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
11174 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
11176 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
11177 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
11178 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
11181 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
11182 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
11183 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
11184 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
11185 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
11187 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
11188 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
11191 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11192 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
11195 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
11196 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
11198 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
11199 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
11200 don't really mix very well.
11202 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
11203 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
11204 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
11205 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
11208 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
11209 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
11210 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
11211 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
11214 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11216 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11218 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
11220 ((string= group "mail.junk")
11222 ((string= group "important")
11228 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
11229 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
11231 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
11232 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
11233 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
11236 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
11237 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
11239 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
11240 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
11241 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
11242 easier for procmail users.
11244 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
11245 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
11246 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
11247 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
11248 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
11249 caution. Even more dangerous is the
11250 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
11251 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
11252 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
11253 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
11254 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
11255 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
11256 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
11259 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
11261 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
11262 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
11263 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
11264 auto-expire turned on.
11268 @subsection Washing Mail
11269 @cindex mail washing
11270 @cindex list server brain damage
11271 @cindex incoming mail treatment
11273 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
11274 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
11275 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
11276 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
11277 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
11278 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
11280 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
11281 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
11282 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
11285 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
11286 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
11287 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
11288 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
11291 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
11292 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
11293 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
11294 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
11295 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
11298 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
11299 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
11300 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
11301 Emacs running on MS machines.
11305 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
11306 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
11307 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
11308 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
11311 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
11312 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
11313 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
11314 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
11316 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11317 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11318 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
11319 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
11320 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
11321 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
11322 also be a list of regexp.
11324 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
11325 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
11328 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
11329 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
11332 This can also be done non-destructively with
11333 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
11335 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
11336 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
11337 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
11339 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
11340 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
11342 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
11343 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
11344 @code{References} headers.
11348 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
11349 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
11350 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
11354 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
11355 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
11356 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
11363 @subsection Duplicates
11365 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
11366 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
11367 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
11368 @cindex duplicate mails
11369 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
11370 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
11371 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
11372 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
11373 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
11374 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
11375 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
11376 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
11377 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
11378 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
11379 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
11380 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
11381 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
11383 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
11384 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
11385 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
11386 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
11388 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
11391 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
11392 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
11396 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
11397 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
11398 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
11399 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
11400 (any mail "mail.misc")
11407 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11408 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
11413 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
11414 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
11415 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
11416 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
11417 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
11420 @node Not Reading Mail
11421 @subsection Not Reading Mail
11423 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
11424 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
11425 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
11427 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
11428 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
11429 mail, which should help.
11431 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
11432 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
11433 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
11434 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
11435 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
11436 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
11437 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
11438 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
11439 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
11440 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
11441 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
11443 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
11444 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
11448 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
11449 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
11451 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
11452 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
11453 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
11455 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
11456 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
11457 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
11458 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
11461 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
11462 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
11463 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
11464 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
11465 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
11466 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
11470 @node Unix Mail Box
11471 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
11473 @cindex unix mail box
11475 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
11476 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
11477 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
11478 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
11479 which group it belongs in.
11481 Virtual server settings:
11484 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
11485 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
11486 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
11488 @item nnmbox-active-file
11489 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
11490 The name of the active file for the mail box.
11492 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
11493 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
11494 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
11500 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
11504 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
11505 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
11506 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
11507 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
11508 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
11510 Virtual server settings:
11513 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
11514 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
11515 The name of the rmail mbox file.
11517 @item nnbabyl-active-file
11518 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
11519 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
11521 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
11522 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
11523 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
11528 @subsubsection Mail Spool
11530 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
11532 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
11533 format. It should be used with some caution.
11535 @vindex nnml-directory
11536 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
11537 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
11538 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
11539 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
11541 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
11544 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
11545 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
11546 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
11547 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
11548 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
11549 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
11550 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
11551 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
11553 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
11554 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
11555 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
11556 backend when it comes to reading mail.
11558 Virtual server settings:
11561 @item nnml-directory
11562 @vindex nnml-directory
11563 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
11565 @item nnml-active-file
11566 @vindex nnml-active-file
11567 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
11569 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
11570 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
11571 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
11574 @item nnml-get-new-mail
11575 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
11576 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
11578 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
11579 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
11580 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
11582 @item nnml-nov-file-name
11583 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
11584 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
11586 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
11587 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
11588 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
11592 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
11593 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
11594 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
11595 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
11596 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
11597 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
11598 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
11603 @subsubsection MH Spool
11605 @cindex mh-e mail spool
11607 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
11608 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
11609 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
11610 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
11612 Virtual server settings:
11615 @item nnmh-directory
11616 @vindex nnmh-directory
11617 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
11619 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
11620 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
11621 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
11624 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
11625 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
11626 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
11627 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
11628 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
11629 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
11630 to set this variable to @code{t}.
11635 @subsubsection Mail Folders
11637 @cindex mbox folders
11638 @cindex mail folders
11640 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
11641 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
11642 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
11645 Virtual server settings:
11648 @item nnfolder-directory
11649 @vindex nnfolder-directory
11650 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
11652 @item nnfolder-active-file
11653 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
11654 The name of the active file.
11656 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
11657 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
11658 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
11660 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
11661 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
11662 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
11664 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
11665 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
11666 @cindex backup files
11667 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
11668 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
11669 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
11670 your @file{.emacs} file:
11673 (defun turn-off-backup ()
11674 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
11676 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
11679 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
11680 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
11681 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
11682 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
11683 extract some information from it before removing it.
11688 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
11689 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
11690 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
11691 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
11692 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
11693 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
11696 @node Comparing Mail Backends
11697 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
11699 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
11700 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
11701 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
11702 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
11703 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
11705 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
11706 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
11707 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
11708 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
11709 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
11710 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
11711 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
11712 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
11715 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
11716 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
11717 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
11718 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
11723 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
11724 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
11725 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
11726 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
11727 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
11728 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
11729 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
11730 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
11731 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
11732 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
11733 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
11734 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
11735 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
11740 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
11741 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
11742 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
11743 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
11744 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
11745 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
11746 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
11747 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
11748 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
11749 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
11750 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
11751 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
11752 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
11753 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
11755 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
11756 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
11761 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
11762 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
11763 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
11764 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
11765 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
11766 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
11767 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
11768 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
11769 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
11770 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
11771 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
11772 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
11773 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
11774 provided by the active file and overviews.
11776 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
11777 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
11778 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
11779 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
11780 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
11783 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
11784 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
11789 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
11790 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
11791 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
11792 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
11793 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
11794 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
11795 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
11799 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
11800 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
11801 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
11802 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
11803 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
11804 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
11805 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
11806 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
11807 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
11809 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
11810 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
11811 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
11812 friendly mail backend all over.
11817 @node Browsing the Web
11818 @section Browsing the Web
11820 @cindex browsing the web
11824 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
11825 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
11826 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
11827 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
11828 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
11829 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
11830 even know what a news group is.
11832 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
11833 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
11834 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
11835 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
11836 you mad in the end.
11838 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
11841 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
11842 interfaces to these sources.
11845 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
11846 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
11847 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
11848 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
11851 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
11852 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
11853 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
11854 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
11855 though, you should be ok.
11857 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
11858 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
11859 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
11860 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
11861 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
11865 @subsection Web Searches
11869 @cindex InReference
11870 @cindex Usenet searches
11871 @cindex searching the Usenet
11873 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
11874 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
11875 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
11876 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
11877 searches without having to use a browser.
11879 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11880 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11881 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11882 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11883 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11885 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11886 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11887 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11888 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11889 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11890 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11891 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11892 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11893 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11894 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11897 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11898 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11899 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
11900 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11901 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11902 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11904 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11905 to use @code{nnweb}.
11907 Virtual server variables:
11912 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11913 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11917 @vindex nnweb-search
11918 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11920 @item nnweb-max-hits
11921 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11922 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11925 @item nnweb-type-definition
11926 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11927 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11928 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11933 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11937 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11940 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11943 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11947 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11954 @subsection Slashdot
11958 Slashdot (@file{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
11959 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
11960 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
11962 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
11963 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
11966 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
11967 '((nnslashdot "")))
11970 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
11971 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
11972 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
11973 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
11974 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
11977 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
11978 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11980 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
11981 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
11982 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
11983 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
11984 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
11985 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
11988 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
11991 @item nnslashdot-threaded
11992 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
11993 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
11994 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
11995 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
11996 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
11997 but much, much slower than untreaded.
11999 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12000 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12001 The login name to use when posting.
12003 @item nnslashdot-password
12004 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12005 The password to use when posting.
12007 @item nnslashdot-directory
12008 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12009 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12010 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12012 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12013 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12014 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12015 news articles and comments. The default is
12016 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12018 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12019 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12020 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12022 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12024 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12025 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12026 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12028 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12030 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12031 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
12032 The score threshold. The default is -1.
12034 @item nnslashdot-group-number
12035 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
12036 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
12037 updated. The default is 0.
12044 @subsection Ultimate
12046 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
12048 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@file{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
12049 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
12050 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
12051 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
12053 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
12054 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
12055 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
12056 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
12057 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
12058 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
12059 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
12061 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
12064 @item nnultimate-directory
12065 @vindex nnultimate-directory
12066 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
12067 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
12071 @subsection Web Archive
12073 @cindex Web Archive
12075 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
12076 @file{http://www.egroups.com/} and
12077 @file{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
12078 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
12081 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
12082 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
12083 gnus-group-make-nnwarchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
12084 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
12085 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
12086 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
12087 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
12089 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
12092 @item nnwarchive-directory
12093 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
12094 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
12095 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
12097 @item nnwarchive-login
12098 @vindex nnwarchive-login
12099 The account name on the web server.
12101 @item nnwarchive-passwd
12102 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
12103 The password for your account on the web server.
12106 @node Other Sources
12107 @section Other Sources
12109 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
12110 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
12114 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
12115 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
12116 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
12117 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
12118 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
12119 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
12123 @node Directory Groups
12124 @subsection Directory Groups
12126 @cindex directory groups
12128 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
12129 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
12132 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
12133 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
12134 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
12135 backend to read directories. Big deal.
12137 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
12138 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
12139 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
12140 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
12141 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
12143 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
12145 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
12146 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
12147 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
12148 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
12151 @node Anything Groups
12152 @subsection Anything Groups
12155 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
12156 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
12157 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
12160 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
12161 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
12162 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
12163 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
12164 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
12165 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
12166 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
12167 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
12168 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
12169 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
12172 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
12173 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
12174 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
12175 in the article buffer, just as usual.
12177 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
12178 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
12179 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
12180 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
12182 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
12183 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
12184 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
12185 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
12186 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
12187 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
12188 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
12189 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
12194 @item nneething-map-file-directory
12195 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
12196 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
12197 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
12199 @item nneething-exclude-files
12200 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
12201 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
12202 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
12204 @item nneething-include-files
12205 @vindex nneething-include-files
12206 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
12207 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
12209 @item nneething-map-file
12210 @vindex nneething-map-file
12211 Name of the map files.
12215 @node Document Groups
12216 @subsection Document Groups
12218 @cindex documentation group
12221 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
12222 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
12229 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
12234 The standard Unix mbox file.
12236 @cindex MMDF mail box
12238 The MMDF mail box format.
12241 Several news articles appended into a file.
12244 @cindex rnews batch files
12245 The rnews batch transport format.
12246 @cindex forwarded messages
12249 Forwarded articles.
12252 Netscape mail boxes.
12255 MIME multipart messages.
12257 @item standard-digest
12258 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
12261 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
12264 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
12265 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
12266 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
12269 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
12270 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
12271 group. And that's it.
12273 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
12274 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
12275 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
12276 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
12277 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
12278 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
12279 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
12280 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
12281 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
12282 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
12284 Virtual server variables:
12287 @item nndoc-article-type
12288 @vindex nndoc-article-type
12289 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
12290 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
12291 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
12292 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
12294 @item nndoc-post-type
12295 @vindex nndoc-post-type
12296 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
12297 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
12302 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
12306 @node Document Server Internals
12307 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
12309 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
12310 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
12311 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
12312 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
12314 First, here's an example document type definition:
12318 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
12319 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
12322 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
12323 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
12324 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
12325 types can be defined with very few settings:
12328 @item first-article
12329 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
12330 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
12333 @item article-begin
12334 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
12335 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
12337 @item head-begin-function
12338 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
12341 @item nndoc-head-begin
12342 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
12345 @item nndoc-head-end
12346 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
12347 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
12349 @item body-begin-function
12350 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
12354 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
12357 @item body-end-function
12358 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
12362 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
12365 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
12366 regexp will be totally ignored.
12370 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
12371 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
12372 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
12373 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
12374 something that's palatable for Gnus:
12377 @item prepare-body-function
12378 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
12379 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
12380 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
12382 @item article-transform-function
12383 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
12384 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
12385 body of the article.
12387 @item generate-head-function
12388 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
12389 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
12390 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
12391 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
12395 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
12400 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
12401 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
12402 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
12403 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
12404 (head-end . "^ ?$")
12405 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
12406 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
12407 (subtype digest guess))
12410 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
12411 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
12412 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
12413 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
12414 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
12416 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
12417 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
12418 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
12419 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
12420 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
12421 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
12422 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
12423 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
12424 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
12425 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
12433 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
12434 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
12435 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
12437 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
12438 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
12439 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
12442 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
12443 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
12444 that interested in doing things properly.
12446 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
12447 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
12450 First some terminology:
12455 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
12456 get news and/or mail from.
12459 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
12460 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
12463 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
12467 @item message packets
12468 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
12469 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
12470 default, where @var{x} is a number.
12472 @item response packets
12473 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
12474 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
12475 default, where @var{x} is a number.
12485 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
12486 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
12487 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
12488 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
12491 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
12494 You put the packet in your home directory.
12497 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
12498 the native or secondary server.
12501 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
12502 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
12505 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
12509 You transfer this packet to the server.
12512 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
12515 You then repeat until you die.
12519 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
12520 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
12523 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
12524 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
12525 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
12529 @node SOUP Commands
12530 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
12532 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
12536 @kindex G s b (Group)
12537 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
12538 Pack all unread articles in the current group
12539 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
12540 process/prefix convention.
12543 @kindex G s w (Group)
12544 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
12545 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
12548 @kindex G s s (Group)
12549 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
12550 Send all replies from the replies packet
12551 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
12554 @kindex G s p (Group)
12555 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
12556 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
12559 @kindex G s r (Group)
12560 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
12561 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
12564 @kindex O s (Summary)
12565 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
12566 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
12567 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
12568 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
12573 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
12578 @item gnus-soup-directory
12579 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
12580 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
12581 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
12583 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
12584 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
12585 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
12586 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
12588 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
12589 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
12590 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
12591 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
12593 @item gnus-soup-packer
12594 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
12595 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
12596 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
12598 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
12599 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
12600 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
12601 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
12603 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
12604 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
12605 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
12607 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
12608 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
12609 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
12610 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
12616 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
12619 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
12620 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
12621 you can read them at leisure.
12623 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
12627 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
12628 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
12629 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
12630 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
12632 @item nnsoup-directory
12633 @vindex nnsoup-directory
12634 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
12635 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
12637 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
12638 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
12639 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
12640 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
12642 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
12643 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
12644 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
12645 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
12646 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
12648 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
12649 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
12650 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
12651 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
12653 @item nnsoup-active-file
12654 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
12655 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
12656 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
12657 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
12658 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
12660 @item nnsoup-packer
12661 @vindex nnsoup-packer
12662 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
12663 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
12665 @item nnsoup-unpacker
12666 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
12667 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
12668 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
12670 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
12671 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
12672 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
12675 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
12676 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
12677 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
12680 @item nnsoup-always-save
12681 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
12682 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
12688 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
12690 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
12691 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
12692 more for that to happen.
12694 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
12695 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
12696 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
12699 In specific, this is what it does:
12702 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
12703 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
12706 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
12707 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
12708 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
12711 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
12712 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
12713 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
12716 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
12717 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
12718 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
12720 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
12726 @item nngateway-address
12727 @vindex nngateway-address
12728 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
12730 @item nngateway-header-transformation
12731 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
12732 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
12733 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
12734 transformation should be called, and defaults to
12735 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
12736 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
12739 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
12740 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
12741 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
12744 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
12747 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
12750 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
12753 The following pre-defined functions exist:
12755 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
12758 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
12759 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
12760 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
12762 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
12764 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
12765 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
12766 @code{nngateway-address}.
12771 (setq gnus-post-method
12772 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
12773 (nngateway-header-transformation
12774 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
12782 So, to use this, simply say something like:
12785 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
12791 @subsection @sc{imap}
12795 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
12796 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
12797 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
12798 network address of the server.
12800 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
12805 @item nnimap-address
12806 @vindex nnimap-address
12808 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
12809 server name if not specified.
12811 @item nnimap-server-port
12812 @vindex nnimap-server-port
12813 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
12815 @item nnimap-list-pattern
12816 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
12817 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
12818 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
12819 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
12820 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
12821 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
12823 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
12824 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
12825 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
12831 ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*" ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))
12834 @item nnimap-stream
12835 @vindex nnimap-stream
12836 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
12837 will use the most secure stream your server is capable of.
12841 @dfn{kerberos4:} Uses the `imtest' program.
12843 @dfn{ssl:} Uses OpenSSL or SSLeay.
12845 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
12848 @item nnimap-authenticator
12849 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
12851 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
12852 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
12856 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication.
12858 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
12860 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
12862 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
12865 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
12867 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
12868 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
12869 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
12870 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
12871 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
12872 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
12875 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
12876 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
12877 running in circles yet?
12879 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
12880 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
12883 The possible options are:
12888 The default behaviour, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
12891 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
12892 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
12893 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
12894 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
12896 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
12903 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
12904 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
12905 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
12910 @node Splitting in IMAP
12911 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
12912 @cindex splitting imap mail
12914 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
12915 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
12916 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
12917 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
12918 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
12922 Here are the variables of interest:
12926 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
12927 @cindex splitting, crosspost
12929 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
12931 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
12932 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
12934 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
12936 @item nnimap-split-inbox
12937 @cindex splitting, inbox
12939 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
12941 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
12942 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
12946 (setq nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
12949 No nnmail equivalent.
12951 @item nnimap-split-rule
12952 @cindex Splitting, rules
12953 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
12955 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
12958 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
12959 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
12960 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
12961 Neither did I, we need examples.
12964 (setq nnimap-split-rule
12965 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
12966 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
12967 ("INBOX.private" "")))
12970 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
12971 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
12972 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
12974 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
12975 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
12979 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
12982 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12983 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
12984 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
12985 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
12987 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
12988 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
12989 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
12990 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
12991 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
12992 them every time you fetch new mail.)
12994 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
12995 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
12996 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
12998 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
12999 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
13000 thinks the article should be splitted to.
13002 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
13004 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
13006 @item nnimap-split-fancy
13007 @cindex splitting, fancy
13008 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
13009 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
13011 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13012 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
13013 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13015 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
13016 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13017 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
13018 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13023 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
13024 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
13027 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
13031 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
13032 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13033 @cindex editing imap acls
13034 @cindex Access Control Lists
13035 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13037 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
13039 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
13040 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
13041 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
13044 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
13045 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
13046 editing window with detailed instructions.
13048 Some possible uses:
13052 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
13053 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
13054 follow the list without subscribing to it.
13056 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
13057 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
13058 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
13062 @node Expunging mailboxes
13063 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
13067 @cindex Manual expunging
13069 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
13071 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
13072 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
13073 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
13075 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
13080 @node Combined Groups
13081 @section Combined Groups
13083 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
13087 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
13088 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
13092 @node Virtual Groups
13093 @subsection Virtual Groups
13095 @cindex virtual groups
13096 @cindex merging groups
13098 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
13101 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
13102 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
13103 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
13105 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
13106 regexp to match component groups.
13108 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
13109 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
13110 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
13111 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
13112 the virtual group.)
13114 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
13115 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
13118 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
13121 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
13122 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
13124 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
13125 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
13126 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
13127 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
13130 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
13133 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
13134 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
13135 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
13137 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
13138 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
13139 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
13140 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
13141 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
13143 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
13144 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
13145 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
13147 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
13148 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
13149 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
13150 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13151 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
13152 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
13153 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
13154 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
13155 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
13156 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
13157 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
13159 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
13160 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
13161 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
13162 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
13163 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
13164 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
13165 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
13167 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
13168 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
13172 @node Kibozed Groups
13173 @subsection Kibozed Groups
13177 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
13178 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
13179 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
13180 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
13182 @kindex G k (Group)
13183 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
13186 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
13187 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
13188 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
13189 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
13191 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
13192 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
13193 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
13195 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
13196 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
13197 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
13198 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
13199 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
13200 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
13201 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
13202 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
13204 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
13205 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
13206 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
13207 Stranger things have happened.
13209 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
13210 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
13212 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
13213 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
13214 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
13215 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
13216 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
13217 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
13219 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
13220 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
13223 @node Gnus Unplugged
13224 @section Gnus Unplugged
13229 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
13231 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
13232 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
13233 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
13234 read news. Believe it or not.
13236 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
13237 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
13238 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
13239 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
13240 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
13242 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
13243 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
13244 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
13245 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
13246 reading news on a machine.
13248 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
13252 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
13253 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
13257 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
13258 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13265 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
13267 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
13270 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
13271 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
13272 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
13273 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
13274 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
13275 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
13276 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
13277 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
13278 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
13283 @subsection Agent Basics
13285 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
13287 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
13288 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
13289 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
13290 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
13292 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
13293 connected to the net continuously.
13295 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
13296 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
13298 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
13303 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
13304 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
13305 already fetched while in this mode.
13308 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
13309 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
13310 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
13313 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
13314 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
13315 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
13316 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
13319 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
13320 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
13321 then you read the news offline.
13324 And then you go to step 2.
13327 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
13333 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
13334 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
13335 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
13336 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
13337 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
13338 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
13341 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
13348 @node Agent Categories
13349 @subsection Agent Categories
13351 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
13352 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
13353 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
13354 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
13355 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
13356 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
13357 you're interested in the articles anyway.
13359 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
13360 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
13361 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
13362 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
13363 managing categories.
13366 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
13367 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
13368 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
13372 @node Category Syntax
13373 @subsubsection Category Syntax
13375 A category consists of two things.
13379 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
13380 are eligible for downloading; and
13383 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
13384 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
13385 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
13388 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
13389 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
13390 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
13391 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
13393 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
13394 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
13395 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
13397 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
13398 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
13399 operators sprinkled in between.
13401 Perhaps some examples are in order.
13403 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
13404 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
13410 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
13411 short (for some value of ``short'').
13413 Here's a more complex predicate:
13422 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
13423 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
13426 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
13427 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
13428 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
13430 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
13431 you want to do, you can write your own.
13435 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
13436 lines; default 100.
13439 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
13440 lines; default 200.
13443 True iff the article has a download score less than
13444 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
13447 True iff the article has a download score greater than
13448 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
13451 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
13452 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
13453 checksum and sees whether articles match.
13462 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
13463 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
13464 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
13467 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
13468 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
13469 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
13470 something along the lines of the following:
13473 (defun my-article-old-p ()
13474 "Say whether an article is old."
13475 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
13476 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
13479 with the predicate then defined as:
13482 (not my-article-old-p)
13485 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
13486 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
13487 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
13488 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
13491 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
13492 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
13493 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
13496 and simply specify your predicate as:
13502 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
13503 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
13504 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
13505 just don't give a damm.
13507 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
13508 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
13509 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
13510 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
13511 parameters like so:
13514 (agent-predicate . short)
13517 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
13518 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
13519 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
13521 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
13524 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
13527 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
13528 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
13529 predicate is assumed to be a list.
13532 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
13533 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
13534 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
13535 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
13536 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
13537 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
13539 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
13540 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
13541 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
13542 if it's to be specific to that group.
13544 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
13551 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
13552 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
13558 Category specification
13562 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
13568 Group Parameter specification
13571 (agent-score ("from"
13572 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
13577 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
13583 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
13590 Category specification
13593 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
13599 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
13603 Group Parameter specification
13606 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
13609 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
13614 Use @code{normal} score files
13616 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
13617 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
13618 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
13619 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
13621 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
13622 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
13623 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
13624 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
13628 Category Specification
13635 Group Parameter specification
13638 (agent-score . file)
13643 @node The Category Buffer
13644 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
13646 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
13647 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
13648 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
13650 The following commands are available in this buffer:
13654 @kindex q (Category)
13655 @findex gnus-category-exit
13656 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
13659 @kindex k (Category)
13660 @findex gnus-category-kill
13661 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
13664 @kindex c (Category)
13665 @findex gnus-category-copy
13666 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
13669 @kindex a (Category)
13670 @findex gnus-category-add
13671 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
13674 @kindex p (Category)
13675 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
13676 Edit the predicate of the current category
13677 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
13680 @kindex g (Category)
13681 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
13682 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
13683 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
13686 @kindex s (Category)
13687 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
13688 Edit the download score rule of the current category
13689 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
13692 @kindex l (Category)
13693 @findex gnus-category-list
13694 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
13698 @node Category Variables
13699 @subsubsection Category Variables
13702 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
13703 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
13704 Hook run in category buffers.
13706 @item gnus-category-line-format
13707 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
13708 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
13709 Variables}). Valid elements are:
13713 The name of the category.
13716 The number of groups in the category.
13719 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
13720 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
13721 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
13723 @item gnus-agent-short-article
13724 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
13725 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
13727 @item gnus-agent-long-article
13728 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
13729 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
13731 @item gnus-agent-low-score
13732 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
13733 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
13736 @item gnus-agent-high-score
13737 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
13738 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
13744 @node Agent Commands
13745 @subsection Agent Commands
13747 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
13748 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
13749 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
13753 * Group Agent Commands::
13754 * Summary Agent Commands::
13755 * Server Agent Commands::
13758 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
13759 following incantation:
13761 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
13763 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
13768 @node Group Agent Commands
13769 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
13773 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
13774 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
13775 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
13776 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
13779 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
13780 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
13781 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
13784 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
13785 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
13786 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
13787 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
13790 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
13791 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
13792 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
13793 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
13796 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
13797 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
13798 Add the current group to an Agent category
13799 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
13800 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13803 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
13804 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
13805 Remove the current group from its category, if any
13806 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
13807 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13812 @node Summary Agent Commands
13813 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
13817 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
13818 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
13819 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
13822 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
13823 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
13824 Remove the downloading mark from the article
13825 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
13828 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
13829 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
13830 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
13833 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
13834 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
13835 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
13840 @node Server Agent Commands
13841 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
13845 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
13846 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
13847 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
13848 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
13851 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
13852 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
13853 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
13854 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
13860 @subsection Agent Expiry
13862 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
13863 @findex gnus-agent-expire
13864 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
13865 @cindex Agent expiry
13866 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
13869 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
13870 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
13871 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
13872 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
13873 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
13874 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
13876 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
13877 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
13878 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
13879 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
13880 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
13883 @node Outgoing Messages
13884 @subsection Outgoing Messages
13886 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
13887 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
13888 after posting, and edit them at will.
13890 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
13891 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
13892 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
13893 messages in the draft group.
13897 @node Agent Variables
13898 @subsection Agent Variables
13901 @item gnus-agent-directory
13902 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
13903 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
13904 @file{~/News/agent/}.
13906 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
13907 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
13908 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
13909 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
13910 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
13913 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
13914 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
13915 Hook run when connecting to the network.
13917 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
13918 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
13919 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
13924 @node Example Setup
13925 @subsection Example Setup
13927 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
13928 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
13929 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
13932 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
13933 ;;; from your ISP's server.
13934 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
13936 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
13937 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
13938 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
13940 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
13941 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13943 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
13947 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
13948 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
13951 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
13952 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
13953 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
13954 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
13955 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
13958 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
13959 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
13960 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
13961 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
13962 back all the killed groups.)
13964 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
13965 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
13966 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
13969 @node Batching Agents
13970 @subsection Batching Agents
13972 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
13973 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
13974 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
13978 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
13982 @node Agent Caveats
13983 @subsection Agent Caveats
13985 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
13986 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
13990 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
13995 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
13996 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
14002 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
14003 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
14010 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
14011 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
14012 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
14015 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
14016 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
14017 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
14018 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
14019 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
14021 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
14022 before generating the summary buffer.
14024 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
14025 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
14026 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
14028 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
14029 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
14030 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
14031 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
14034 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
14035 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
14036 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
14037 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
14038 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
14039 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
14040 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
14041 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
14042 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
14043 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
14044 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
14045 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
14046 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
14047 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
14048 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
14049 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
14053 @node Summary Score Commands
14054 @section Summary Score Commands
14055 @cindex score commands
14057 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
14058 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
14059 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
14060 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
14061 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
14063 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
14064 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
14065 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
14066 score file the current one.
14068 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
14073 @kindex V s (Summary)
14074 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
14075 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
14078 @kindex V S (Summary)
14079 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
14080 Display the score of the current article
14081 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
14084 @kindex V t (Summary)
14085 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
14086 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
14087 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
14090 @kindex V R (Summary)
14091 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
14092 Run the current summary through the scoring process
14093 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
14094 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
14095 effect you're having.
14098 @kindex V c (Summary)
14099 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
14100 Make a different score file the current
14101 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
14104 @kindex V e (Summary)
14105 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
14106 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
14107 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
14111 @kindex V f (Summary)
14112 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
14113 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
14114 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
14117 @kindex V F (Summary)
14118 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
14119 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
14120 after editing score files.
14123 @kindex V C (Summary)
14124 @findex gnus-score-customize
14125 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
14126 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
14130 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
14135 @kindex V m (Summary)
14136 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
14137 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
14138 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
14141 @kindex V x (Summary)
14142 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
14143 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
14144 expunge all articles below this score
14145 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
14148 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
14149 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
14152 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
14153 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
14157 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
14158 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
14160 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
14161 keys are available:
14165 Score on the author name.
14168 Score on the subject line.
14171 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
14174 Score on the @code{References} line.
14180 Score on the number of lines.
14183 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
14186 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
14187 the followups to this author.
14201 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
14202 what headers you are scoring on.
14214 Substring matching.
14217 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
14246 Greater than number.
14251 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
14252 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
14253 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
14257 Temporary score entry.
14260 Permanent score entry.
14263 Immediately scoring.
14268 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
14269 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
14270 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
14271 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
14273 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
14274 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
14275 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
14276 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
14277 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
14279 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
14280 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
14281 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
14282 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
14283 current score file.
14285 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
14286 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
14287 pretend they are keymaps or not.
14290 @node Group Score Commands
14291 @section Group Score Commands
14292 @cindex group score commands
14294 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
14299 @kindex W f (Group)
14300 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
14301 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
14302 all the time. This command will flush the cache
14303 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
14307 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
14309 @findex gnus-batch-score
14310 @cindex batch scoring
14312 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
14316 @node Score Variables
14317 @section Score Variables
14318 @cindex score variables
14322 @item gnus-use-scoring
14323 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
14324 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
14325 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
14327 @item gnus-kill-killed
14328 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
14329 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
14330 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
14331 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
14332 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
14333 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
14334 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
14336 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
14337 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
14338 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
14339 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
14340 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
14342 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
14343 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
14344 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
14345 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
14347 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
14348 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
14349 @cindex score cache
14350 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
14351 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
14352 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
14353 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
14354 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
14355 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
14358 @item gnus-save-score
14359 @vindex gnus-save-score
14360 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
14361 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
14362 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
14364 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
14365 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
14366 across group visits.
14368 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
14369 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
14370 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
14371 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
14372 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
14373 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
14374 manually entered data.
14376 @item gnus-summary-default-score
14377 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
14378 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
14380 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
14381 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
14382 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
14383 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
14384 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
14385 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
14387 @item gnus-score-over-mark
14388 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
14389 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
14390 default. Default is @samp{+}.
14392 @item gnus-score-below-mark
14393 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
14394 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
14395 default. Default is @samp{-}.
14397 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
14398 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
14399 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
14400 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
14402 Predefined functions available are:
14405 @item gnus-score-find-single
14406 @findex gnus-score-find-single
14407 Only apply the group's own score file.
14409 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
14410 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
14411 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
14412 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
14413 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
14414 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
14415 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
14416 then a regexp match is done.
14418 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
14419 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
14421 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
14422 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
14423 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
14424 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
14426 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
14427 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
14428 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
14429 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
14430 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
14433 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
14434 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
14435 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
14436 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
14437 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
14438 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
14441 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
14442 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
14443 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
14444 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
14445 are expired. It's 7 by default.
14447 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
14448 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
14449 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
14450 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
14451 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
14452 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
14453 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
14456 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
14457 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
14458 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
14460 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
14461 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
14462 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
14463 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
14464 threading---according to the current value of
14465 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
14466 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
14467 simplified in this manner.
14472 @node Score File Format
14473 @section Score File Format
14474 @cindex score file format
14476 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
14477 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
14478 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
14480 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
14484 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
14486 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
14488 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
14490 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
14495 (mark-and-expunge -10)
14499 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
14500 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
14501 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
14502 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
14506 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
14507 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
14509 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
14510 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
14511 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
14513 Six keys are supported by this alist:
14518 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
14519 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
14520 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
14521 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
14522 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
14523 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
14524 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
14525 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
14526 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
14527 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
14528 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
14529 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
14530 to articles that matches these score entries.
14532 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
14533 score entry has one to four elements.
14537 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
14538 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
14542 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
14543 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
14544 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
14545 is successful. If this element is not present, the
14546 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
14547 instead. This is 1000 by default.
14550 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
14551 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
14552 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
14553 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
14554 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
14557 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
14558 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
14559 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
14560 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
14563 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
14564 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
14565 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
14566 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
14567 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
14568 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
14569 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
14570 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
14571 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
14572 instead, if you feel like.
14575 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
14576 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
14578 These predicates are true if
14581 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
14584 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
14585 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
14592 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
14593 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
14594 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
14595 it's not. I think.)
14597 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
14598 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
14599 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
14600 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
14603 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
14604 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
14605 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
14606 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
14607 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
14608 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
14609 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
14613 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
14614 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
14615 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
14616 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
14617 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
14618 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
14619 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
14620 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
14623 @item Head, Body, All
14624 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
14628 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
14629 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
14630 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
14631 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
14632 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
14633 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
14634 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
14638 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
14639 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
14640 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
14641 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
14642 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
14643 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
14644 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
14645 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
14646 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
14647 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
14648 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
14652 @cindex Score File Atoms
14654 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
14655 lower than this number will be marked as read.
14658 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
14659 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
14661 @item mark-and-expunge
14662 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
14663 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
14666 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
14667 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
14668 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
14669 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
14670 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
14673 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
14674 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
14677 @item exclude-files
14678 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
14679 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
14683 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
14684 ignored when handling global score files.
14687 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
14688 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
14689 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
14690 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
14693 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
14694 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
14695 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
14696 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
14698 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
14702 (mark-and-expunge -100)
14705 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
14706 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
14707 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
14708 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
14709 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
14711 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
14712 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
14713 ordinary scoring rules.
14716 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
14717 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
14718 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
14719 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
14720 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
14721 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
14722 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
14723 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
14724 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
14725 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
14726 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
14730 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
14731 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
14732 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
14733 file for a number of groups.
14736 @cindex local variables
14737 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
14738 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
14739 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
14740 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
14741 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
14745 @node Score File Editing
14746 @section Score File Editing
14748 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
14749 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
14750 with a mode for that.
14752 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
14753 additional commands:
14758 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
14759 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
14760 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
14761 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
14764 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
14765 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
14766 Insert the current date in numerical format
14767 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
14768 you were wondering.
14771 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
14772 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
14773 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
14774 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
14775 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
14780 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
14782 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
14783 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
14785 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
14786 e} to begin editing score files.
14789 @node Adaptive Scoring
14790 @section Adaptive Scoring
14791 @cindex adaptive scoring
14793 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
14794 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
14795 stupidity, to be precise.
14797 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
14798 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
14799 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
14800 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
14801 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
14802 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
14803 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
14804 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
14805 variable to @code{(word line)}.
14807 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
14808 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
14809 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
14810 might look something like this:
14813 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
14814 '((gnus-unread-mark)
14815 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
14816 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
14817 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
14818 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
14819 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
14820 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
14821 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
14822 (gnus-ancient-mark)
14823 (gnus-low-score-mark)
14824 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
14827 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
14828 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
14829 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
14830 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
14831 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
14832 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
14835 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
14836 will be applied to each article.
14838 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
14839 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
14840 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
14841 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
14843 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
14844 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
14845 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
14846 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
14848 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
14849 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
14850 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
14851 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
14853 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
14854 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
14855 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
14856 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
14857 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
14858 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
14860 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
14861 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
14862 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
14863 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
14864 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
14865 aspirins afterwards.)
14867 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
14868 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
14869 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
14871 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
14872 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
14873 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
14875 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
14876 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
14877 let you use different rules in different groups.
14879 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
14880 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
14881 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
14884 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
14885 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
14886 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
14887 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
14888 the length of the match is less than
14889 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
14890 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
14893 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
14894 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
14895 headers. If you adapt on words, the
14896 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
14897 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
14900 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
14901 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
14902 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
14903 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
14904 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
14907 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
14908 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
14909 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
14910 score with 30 points.
14912 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
14913 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
14914 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
14915 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
14916 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
14918 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
14919 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
14920 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
14921 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
14923 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
14924 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
14925 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
14926 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
14928 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
14929 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
14930 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
14931 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
14932 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
14934 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
14935 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
14936 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
14938 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
14939 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
14940 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
14941 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
14944 @node Home Score File
14945 @section Home Score File
14947 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
14948 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
14949 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
14950 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
14952 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
14953 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
14954 could perhaps use the same home score file.
14956 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
14957 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
14962 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
14966 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
14967 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
14971 A list. The elements in this list can be:
14975 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
14976 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
14979 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
14980 the home score file.
14983 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
14986 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
14991 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
14994 (setq gnus-home-score-file
14995 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
14998 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
14999 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
15001 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
15003 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15004 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
15007 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
15008 Other functions include
15011 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
15012 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
15013 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
15014 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
15018 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
15019 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
15020 their own home score files:
15023 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15024 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
15025 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
15026 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
15027 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
15030 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
15031 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
15032 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
15033 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
15034 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
15036 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
15037 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
15038 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
15039 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
15040 precedence over this variable.
15043 @node Followups To Yourself
15044 @section Followups To Yourself
15046 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
15047 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
15048 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
15049 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
15050 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
15051 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
15055 @item gnus-score-followup-article
15056 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
15057 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
15060 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
15061 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
15062 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
15066 @vindex message-sent-hook
15067 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
15068 @code{message-sent-hook}.
15070 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
15071 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
15075 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15076 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15079 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
15080 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
15085 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
15089 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
15090 is system-dependent.
15094 @section Scoring Tips
15095 @cindex scoring tips
15101 @cindex scoring crossposts
15102 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
15103 the @code{Xref} header.
15105 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
15108 @item Multiple crossposts
15109 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
15110 more than, say, 3 groups:
15112 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
15115 @item Matching on the body
15116 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
15117 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
15118 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
15119 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
15120 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
15121 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
15122 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
15125 @item Marking as read
15126 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
15127 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
15128 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
15132 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
15134 @item Negated character classes
15135 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
15136 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
15137 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
15141 @node Reverse Scoring
15142 @section Reverse Scoring
15143 @cindex reverse scoring
15145 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
15146 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
15147 like this in your score file:
15151 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
15156 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
15157 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
15160 @node Global Score Files
15161 @section Global Score Files
15162 @cindex global score files
15164 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
15165 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
15166 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
15168 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
15169 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
15170 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
15172 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
15173 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
15174 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
15175 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
15176 files are applicable to which group.
15178 Say you want to use the score file
15179 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
15180 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
15183 (setq gnus-global-score-files
15184 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
15185 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
15188 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
15189 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
15190 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
15191 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
15192 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
15194 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
15195 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
15197 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
15198 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
15199 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
15200 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
15201 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
15202 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
15204 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
15210 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
15212 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
15214 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
15216 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
15217 lowered out of existence.
15219 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
15220 articles completely.
15223 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
15224 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
15225 old articles for a long time.
15228 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
15229 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
15230 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
15231 holding our breath yet?
15235 @section Kill Files
15238 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
15239 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
15240 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
15242 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
15243 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
15244 files into score files.
15246 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
15247 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
15248 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
15249 that isn't a very good idea.
15251 Normal kill files look like this:
15254 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15255 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
15259 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
15260 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
15262 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
15263 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
15266 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
15271 @kindex M-k (Summary)
15272 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
15273 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
15276 @kindex M-K (Summary)
15277 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
15278 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
15281 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
15286 @kindex M-k (Group)
15287 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
15288 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
15291 @kindex M-K (Group)
15292 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
15293 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
15296 Kill file variables:
15299 @item gnus-kill-file-name
15300 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
15301 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
15302 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
15303 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
15304 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
15305 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
15307 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
15308 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
15309 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
15310 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
15313 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
15314 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
15315 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
15316 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
15317 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
15318 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
15319 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
15320 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
15321 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
15323 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
15324 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
15325 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
15330 @node Converting Kill Files
15331 @section Converting Kill Files
15333 @cindex converting kill files
15335 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
15336 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
15337 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
15340 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
15341 You can fetch it from
15342 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
15344 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
15345 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
15346 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
15354 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
15355 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
15356 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
15358 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
15359 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
15360 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
15361 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
15362 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
15363 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
15364 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
15365 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
15369 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
15370 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
15371 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
15372 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
15376 @node Using GroupLens
15377 @subsection Using GroupLens
15379 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
15381 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
15382 better bit in town at the moment.
15384 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
15388 @item gnus-use-grouplens
15389 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
15390 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
15391 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
15393 @item grouplens-pseudonym
15394 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
15395 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
15396 with the Better Bit Bureau.
15398 @item grouplens-newsgroups
15399 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
15400 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
15404 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
15405 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
15406 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
15407 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
15408 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
15409 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
15412 @node Rating Articles
15413 @subsection Rating Articles
15415 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
15416 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
15417 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
15418 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
15421 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
15426 @kindex r (GroupLens)
15427 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
15428 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
15431 @kindex k (GroupLens)
15432 @findex grouplens-score-thread
15433 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
15434 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
15435 threads in rec.humor.
15439 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
15440 the score of the article you're reading.
15445 @kindex n (GroupLens)
15446 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
15447 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
15450 @kindex , (GroupLens)
15451 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
15452 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
15456 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
15457 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
15460 @node Displaying Predictions
15461 @subsection Displaying Predictions
15463 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
15464 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
15465 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
15466 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
15467 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
15469 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
15470 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
15471 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
15472 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
15473 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
15474 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
15475 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
15476 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
15477 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
15478 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
15479 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
15480 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
15481 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
15483 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
15484 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
15485 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
15486 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
15488 The following are valid values for that variable.
15491 @item prediction-spot
15492 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
15495 @item confidence-interval
15496 A numeric confidence interval.
15498 @item prediction-bar
15499 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
15501 @item confidence-bar
15502 Numerical confidence.
15504 @item confidence-spot
15505 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
15507 @item prediction-num
15508 Plain-old numeric value.
15510 @item confidence-plus-minus
15511 Prediction +/- confidence.
15516 @node GroupLens Variables
15517 @subsection GroupLens Variables
15521 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
15522 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
15523 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
15524 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
15527 @item grouplens-bbb-host
15528 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
15531 @item grouplens-bbb-port
15532 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
15534 @item grouplens-score-offset
15535 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
15536 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
15539 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
15540 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
15541 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
15546 @node Advanced Scoring
15547 @section Advanced Scoring
15549 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
15550 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
15551 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
15552 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
15553 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
15555 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
15559 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
15560 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
15561 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
15565 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
15566 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
15568 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
15569 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
15570 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
15571 non-@code{nil} value.
15573 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
15574 operator, and various match operators.
15581 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
15582 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
15583 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
15588 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
15589 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
15590 then this operator will return @code{false}.
15595 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
15596 logical negation of the value of its argument.
15600 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
15601 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
15602 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
15603 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
15604 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
15605 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
15606 the ancestry you want to go.
15608 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
15609 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
15610 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
15611 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
15612 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
15615 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
15616 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
15618 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
15619 when he's talking about Gnus:
15623 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15624 ("subject" "Gnus"))
15630 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
15634 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15641 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
15642 really don't want to read what he's written:
15646 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15647 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
15651 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
15652 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
15653 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
15660 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
15661 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
15662 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
15663 ("body" "white.*socks"))
15667 The possibilities are endless.
15670 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
15671 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
15673 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
15674 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
15675 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
15676 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
15677 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
15678 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
15679 @samp{subject}) first.
15681 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
15682 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
15693 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
15694 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
15700 ("subject" "Gnus")))
15707 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
15708 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
15713 @section Score Decays
15714 @cindex score decays
15717 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
15718 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
15719 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
15720 use them in any sensible way.
15722 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
15723 @findex gnus-decay-score
15724 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
15725 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
15726 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
15727 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
15728 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
15729 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
15730 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
15731 definition of that function:
15734 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
15736 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
15737 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
15740 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
15742 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
15744 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
15747 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
15748 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
15749 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
15750 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
15754 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
15757 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
15760 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
15764 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
15765 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
15766 the new score, which should be an integer.
15768 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
15769 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
15776 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
15777 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
15778 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
15779 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
15780 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
15781 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
15782 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
15783 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
15784 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
15785 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
15786 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
15787 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
15788 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
15789 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
15790 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
15791 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
15792 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
15793 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
15797 @node Process/Prefix
15798 @section Process/Prefix
15799 @cindex process/prefix convention
15801 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
15802 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
15804 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
15805 command to be performed on.
15809 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
15810 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
15811 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
15812 with the current one.
15814 @vindex transient-mark-mode
15815 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
15816 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
15818 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
15819 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
15822 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
15823 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
15825 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
15828 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
15829 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
15830 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
15831 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15833 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
15834 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
15835 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
15836 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
15837 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
15838 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
15839 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
15840 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
15844 @section Interactive
15845 @cindex interaction
15849 @item gnus-novice-user
15850 @vindex gnus-novice-user
15851 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
15852 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
15853 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
15854 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
15857 @item gnus-expert-user
15858 @vindex gnus-expert-user
15859 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
15860 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
15861 matter how strange.
15863 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
15864 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
15865 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
15866 is @code{t} by default.
15868 @item gnus-interactive-exit
15869 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
15870 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
15875 @node Symbolic Prefixes
15876 @section Symbolic Prefixes
15877 @cindex symbolic prefixes
15879 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
15880 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
15881 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
15882 rule of 900 to the current article.
15884 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
15885 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
15886 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
15887 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
15888 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
15889 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
15890 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
15892 @kindex M-i (Summary)
15893 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
15894 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
15895 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
15896 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
15897 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
15898 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
15899 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
15900 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
15902 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
15903 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
15904 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
15906 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
15910 @node Formatting Variables
15911 @section Formatting Variables
15912 @cindex formatting variables
15914 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
15915 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
15916 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
15917 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
15918 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
15921 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
15922 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
15923 lots of percentages everywhere.
15926 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
15927 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
15928 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
15929 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
15930 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
15933 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
15934 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
15935 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
15936 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
15937 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
15938 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
15939 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
15940 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
15942 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
15943 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
15945 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
15946 @findex gnus-update-format
15947 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
15948 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
15949 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
15950 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
15954 @node Formatting Basics
15955 @subsection Formatting Basics
15957 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
15958 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
15959 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
15961 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
15962 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
15963 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
15964 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
15965 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
15968 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
15969 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
15970 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
15971 less than 4 characters wide.
15974 @node Mode Line Formatting
15975 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
15977 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
15978 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
15979 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
15980 with the following two differences:
15985 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
15988 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
15989 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
15990 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
15991 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
15992 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
15993 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
15994 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
15999 @node Advanced Formatting
16000 @subsection Advanced Formatting
16002 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
16003 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
16004 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
16005 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
16007 These are the valid modifiers:
16012 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
16016 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
16021 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
16024 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
16029 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
16032 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
16035 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
16038 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
16042 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
16043 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
16044 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
16045 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
16046 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
16047 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
16048 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
16050 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
16051 last operation, padding.
16053 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
16054 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
16055 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
16056 (In T-gnus, @code{gnus-compile} will be evaluated at startup by default.)
16057 @xref{Compilation}.
16060 @node User-Defined Specs
16061 @subsection User-Defined Specs
16063 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
16064 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
16065 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
16066 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
16067 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
16068 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
16069 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
16070 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
16071 should protect against that.
16073 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
16074 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
16075 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
16076 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
16080 @node Formatting Fonts
16081 @subsection Formatting Fonts
16083 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
16084 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
16085 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
16086 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
16089 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
16090 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
16091 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
16092 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
16093 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
16094 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
16096 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
16097 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
16098 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
16099 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
16100 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
16101 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
16102 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
16103 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
16105 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
16108 ;; Create three face types.
16109 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
16110 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
16112 ;; We want the article count to be in
16113 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
16114 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
16115 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
16117 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
16118 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
16120 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
16121 (setq gnus-group-line-format
16122 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
16125 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
16126 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
16128 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
16129 mode-line variables.
16132 @node Windows Configuration
16133 @section Windows Configuration
16134 @cindex windows configuration
16136 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
16138 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
16139 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
16140 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
16141 @code{t} by default.
16143 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
16144 glitches. Use at your own peril.
16146 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
16147 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
16148 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
16151 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
16152 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
16153 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
16157 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
16158 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
16159 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
16160 possible names is listed below.
16162 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
16163 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
16166 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
16170 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
16171 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
16172 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
16173 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
16174 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
16175 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
16176 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
16177 size spec per split.
16179 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
16180 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
16181 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
16182 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
16183 present) gets focus.
16185 Here's a more complicated example:
16188 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
16189 (summary 0.25 point)
16190 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
16194 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
16195 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
16196 occupy, not a percentage.
16198 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
16199 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
16200 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
16201 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
16202 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
16205 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
16208 (article (horizontal 1.0
16213 (summary 0.25 point)
16218 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
16219 @code{horizontal} thingie?
16221 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
16222 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
16223 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
16224 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
16225 the screen is to be given to this strip.
16227 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
16228 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
16229 lines from the splits.
16231 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
16235 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
16236 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
16237 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
16238 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
16239 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
16240 size = number | frame-params
16241 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
16244 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
16245 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
16246 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
16247 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
16249 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
16250 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
16251 @cindex window height
16252 @cindex window width
16253 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
16254 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
16255 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
16256 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
16257 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
16258 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
16260 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
16261 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
16262 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
16263 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
16265 @findex gnus-configure-frame
16266 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
16267 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
16268 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
16269 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
16270 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
16271 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
16272 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
16273 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
16274 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
16275 configuration list.
16278 (gnus-configure-frame
16282 (article 0.3 point))
16290 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
16291 @code{frame} split:
16294 (gnus-configure-frame
16297 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
16299 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
16300 (user-position . t)
16301 (left . -1) (top . 1))
16306 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
16307 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
16308 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
16309 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
16310 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
16311 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
16312 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
16313 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
16315 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
16316 be found in its default value.
16318 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
16319 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
16320 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
16324 (message (horizontal 1.0
16325 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
16327 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
16332 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
16333 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
16334 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
16337 (message (frame 1.0
16338 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
16339 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
16340 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
16341 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
16342 (name . "Message"))
16343 (message 1.0 point))))
16346 @findex gnus-add-configuration
16347 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
16348 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
16349 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
16350 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
16353 (gnus-add-configuration
16354 '(article (vertical 1.0
16356 (summary .25 point)
16360 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
16361 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
16362 Gnus has been loaded.
16364 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
16365 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
16366 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
16367 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
16368 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
16370 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
16371 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
16372 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
16376 @node Faces and Fonts
16377 @section Faces and Fonts
16382 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
16383 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
16384 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
16389 @section Compilation
16390 @cindex compilation
16391 @cindex byte-compilation
16393 @findex gnus-compile
16395 Remember all those line format specification variables?
16396 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
16397 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
16398 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
16399 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
16400 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
16403 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
16404 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
16405 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
16406 you'll get top speed again. T-gnus will not save these compiled specs
16407 in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, but @code{gnus-compile} will be
16408 evaluated at startup by the default value of @code{gnus-setup-news-hook}.
16409 (User-defined functions aren't compiled by this function, though---you
16410 should compile them yourself by sticking them into the @code{.gnus.el}
16411 file and byte-compiling that file.)
16415 @section Mode Lines
16418 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
16419 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
16420 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
16421 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
16422 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
16423 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
16424 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
16427 @cindex display-time
16429 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
16430 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
16431 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
16432 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
16433 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
16434 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
16435 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
16436 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
16439 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
16441 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
16442 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
16444 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
16445 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
16446 (length display-time-string)))))
16449 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
16450 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
16451 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
16452 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
16453 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
16456 @node Highlighting and Menus
16457 @section Highlighting and Menus
16459 @cindex highlighting
16462 @vindex gnus-visual
16463 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
16464 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
16465 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
16468 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
16469 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
16472 @item group-highlight
16473 Do highlights in the group buffer.
16474 @item summary-highlight
16475 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
16476 @item article-highlight
16477 Do highlights in the article buffer.
16479 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
16481 Create menus in the group buffer.
16483 Create menus in the summary buffers.
16485 Create menus in the article buffer.
16487 Create menus in the browse buffer.
16489 Create menus in the server buffer.
16491 Create menus in the score buffers.
16493 Create menus in all buffers.
16496 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
16497 buffers, you could say something like:
16500 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
16503 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
16506 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
16509 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
16510 in all Gnus buffers.
16512 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
16515 @item gnus-mouse-face
16516 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
16517 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
16518 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
16522 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
16526 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
16527 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
16528 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
16530 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
16531 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
16532 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
16534 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
16535 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
16536 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
16538 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
16539 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
16540 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
16542 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
16543 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
16544 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
16546 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
16547 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
16548 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
16559 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
16560 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
16561 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
16562 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
16563 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
16567 @vindex gnus-carpal
16568 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
16569 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
16570 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
16575 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
16576 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
16577 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
16579 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
16580 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
16581 Face used on buttons.
16583 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
16584 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
16585 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
16587 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
16588 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
16589 Buttons in the group buffer.
16591 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
16592 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
16593 Buttons in the summary buffer.
16595 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
16596 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
16597 Buttons in the server buffer.
16599 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
16600 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
16601 Buttons in the browse buffer.
16604 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
16605 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
16606 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
16614 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
16615 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
16616 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
16617 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
16618 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
16620 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
16621 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
16622 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
16624 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
16625 been idle for thirty minutes:
16628 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
16631 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
16635 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
16638 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
16639 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
16640 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
16642 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
16643 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
16644 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
16645 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
16647 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
16648 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
16649 @var{idle} minutes.
16651 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
16652 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
16655 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
16656 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
16657 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
16659 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
16660 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
16661 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
16662 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
16664 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
16665 your @file{.gnus} file:
16667 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
16669 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
16672 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
16673 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
16674 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
16675 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
16676 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
16677 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
16678 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
16679 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
16680 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
16681 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
16682 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
16684 @findex gnus-demon-init
16685 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
16686 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
16687 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
16688 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
16689 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
16691 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
16692 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
16693 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
16702 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
16703 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
16705 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
16706 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
16707 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
16708 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
16711 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
16712 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
16713 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
16714 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
16716 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
16717 this will make spam disappear.
16719 There are some variables to customize, of course:
16722 @item gnus-use-nocem
16723 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
16724 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
16727 @item gnus-nocem-groups
16728 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
16729 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
16730 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
16731 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
16733 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
16734 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
16735 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
16736 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
16737 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
16738 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
16739 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
16741 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
16744 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
16745 @cindex Chris Lewis
16746 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
16747 usenet abuse than anybody else.
16750 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
16751 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
16752 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
16754 @item jem@@xpat.com;
16756 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
16759 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
16760 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
16761 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
16764 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
16765 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
16766 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
16767 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
16768 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
16769 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
16770 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
16771 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
16772 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
16773 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
16775 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
16776 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
16779 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
16782 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
16783 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
16786 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
16789 The specs are applied left-to-right.
16792 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
16793 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
16795 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
16796 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
16797 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
16798 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
16800 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
16801 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
16804 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
16806 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
16814 This might be dangerous, though.
16816 @item gnus-nocem-directory
16817 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
16818 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
16819 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
16821 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
16822 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
16823 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
16824 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
16825 might then see old spam.
16829 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
16830 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
16831 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
16832 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
16839 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
16840 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
16841 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
16843 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
16844 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
16845 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
16846 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
16847 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
16848 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
16849 @code{undo} function.
16851 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
16852 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
16853 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
16854 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
16855 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
16856 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
16857 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
16858 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
16859 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
16860 never be totally undoable.
16862 @findex gnus-undo-mode
16863 @vindex gnus-use-undo
16865 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
16866 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
16867 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
16868 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
16873 @section Moderation
16876 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
16877 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
16878 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
16881 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
16885 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
16888 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
16890 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
16895 You split your incoming mail by matching on
16896 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
16897 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
16900 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
16901 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
16904 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
16905 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
16909 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
16912 (setq gnus-moderated-list
16913 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
16917 @node XEmacs Enhancements
16918 @section XEmacs Enhancements
16921 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
16925 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
16926 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
16927 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
16928 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
16941 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
16942 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
16943 over your shoulder as you read news.
16946 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
16947 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
16948 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
16949 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
16950 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
16955 @subsubsection Picon Basics
16957 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
16966 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
16967 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
16968 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
16969 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
16970 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
16971 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
16972 @code{GIF} formats.
16975 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
16976 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
16977 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
16978 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
16979 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
16981 @vindex gnus-picons-database
16982 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
16983 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
16984 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
16985 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
16986 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
16989 @node Picon Requirements
16990 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
16992 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
16993 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
16996 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
16997 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
16998 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
17000 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17001 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
17002 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
17003 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
17004 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
17008 @subsubsection Easy Picons
17010 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
17011 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
17014 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
17015 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
17018 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
17019 containing the Picons databases.
17021 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
17024 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17025 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
17030 @subsubsection Hard Picons
17038 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
17039 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
17040 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
17041 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
17042 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
17047 @item gnus-picons-database
17048 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17049 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
17050 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
17051 subdirectories. This is only useful if
17052 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
17053 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
17055 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17056 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17057 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
17058 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
17059 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
17060 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
17061 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17063 @item gnus-picons-display-where
17064 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17065 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
17066 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
17067 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
17068 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
17069 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
17070 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
17072 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17073 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17074 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
17079 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
17080 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
17082 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
17083 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
17086 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17088 @item gnus-article-display-picons
17089 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17090 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
17091 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
17093 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
17094 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17095 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
17101 @node Picon Useless Configuration
17102 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
17110 The following variables offer further control over how things are
17111 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
17112 don't need to worry about.
17116 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
17117 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
17118 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
17119 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
17121 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
17122 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
17123 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
17124 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
17126 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
17127 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
17128 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
17129 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
17130 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
17132 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17133 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17134 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
17135 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
17136 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
17137 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
17138 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
17140 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
17141 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
17142 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
17143 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
17145 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
17146 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
17147 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
17148 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
17149 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
17150 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
17151 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
17153 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
17154 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
17155 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
17156 Defaults to @code{nil}.
17158 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
17159 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
17160 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
17161 Defaults to @code{t}.
17163 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
17164 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
17165 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
17166 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
17168 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
17169 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
17170 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
17172 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
17173 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
17174 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
17175 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
17177 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
17178 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
17180 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
17181 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
17182 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
17183 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
17184 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
17185 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
17186 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
17187 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
17198 @subsection Smileys
17203 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
17208 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
17209 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
17211 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
17212 @file{.gnus.el} file:
17215 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
17218 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
17219 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
17220 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
17221 text and maps that to file names.
17223 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
17224 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
17225 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
17226 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
17227 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
17228 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
17230 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
17231 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
17233 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
17234 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
17235 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
17237 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
17238 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
17242 @item smiley-data-directory
17243 @vindex smiley-data-directory
17244 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
17246 @item smiley-flesh-color
17247 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
17248 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
17250 @item smiley-features-color
17251 @vindex smiley-features-color
17252 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
17254 @item smiley-tongue-color
17255 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
17256 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
17258 @item smiley-circle-color
17259 @vindex smiley-circle-color
17260 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
17262 @item smiley-mouse-face
17263 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
17264 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
17270 @subsection Toolbar
17280 @item gnus-use-toolbar
17281 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
17282 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
17283 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
17284 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
17286 @item gnus-group-toolbar
17287 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
17288 The toolbar in the group buffer.
17290 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
17291 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
17292 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
17294 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
17295 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
17296 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
17302 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
17305 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
17306 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
17307 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
17308 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
17309 unusual directory structure.
17311 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
17312 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
17313 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
17314 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
17316 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
17317 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
17318 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
17319 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
17320 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
17321 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
17323 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
17324 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
17325 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
17339 @node Fuzzy Matching
17340 @section Fuzzy Matching
17341 @cindex fuzzy matching
17343 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
17344 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
17346 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
17347 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
17348 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
17350 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
17351 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
17352 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
17353 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
17354 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
17357 @node Thwarting Email Spam
17358 @section Thwarting Email Spam
17362 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
17364 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
17365 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
17366 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
17367 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
17368 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
17369 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
17370 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
17371 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
17374 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
17375 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
17376 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
17377 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
17378 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
17379 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
17383 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
17384 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
17386 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
17387 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
17388 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
17389 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
17390 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
17391 part of the mail address.)
17394 (setq message-default-news-headers
17395 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
17398 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
17399 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
17404 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
17405 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
17406 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
17412 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
17413 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
17414 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
17415 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
17417 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
17418 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
17419 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
17420 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
17421 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
17422 your fancy split rule in this way:
17427 (to "larsi" "misc")
17431 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
17432 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
17433 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
17434 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
17435 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
17437 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
17438 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
17439 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
17440 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
17441 cosmic balance somewhat.
17443 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
17444 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
17445 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
17446 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
17449 @node Various Various
17450 @section Various Various
17456 @item gnus-home-directory
17457 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
17458 defaults to @file{~/}.
17460 @item gnus-directory
17461 @vindex gnus-directory
17462 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
17463 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
17464 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
17466 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
17467 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
17468 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
17469 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
17471 @item gnus-default-directory
17472 @vindex gnus-default-directory
17473 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
17474 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
17475 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
17476 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17477 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
17478 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
17481 @vindex gnus-verbose
17482 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
17483 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
17484 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
17485 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
17486 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
17488 @item gnus-verbose-backends
17489 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
17490 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
17491 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
17493 @item nnheader-max-head-length
17494 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
17495 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
17496 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
17497 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
17498 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
17499 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
17500 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
17501 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
17502 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
17504 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
17505 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
17506 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
17507 read when doing the operation described above.
17509 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
17510 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
17512 @cindex invalid characters in file names
17513 @cindex characters in file names
17514 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
17515 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
17516 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
17519 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
17523 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
17524 Windows (phooey) systems.
17526 @item gnus-hidden-properties
17527 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
17528 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
17529 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
17530 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
17532 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
17533 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
17534 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
17535 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
17536 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
17538 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
17539 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
17540 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
17549 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
17550 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
17552 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
17554 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
17560 Not because of victories @*
17563 but for the common sunshine,@*
17565 the largess of the spring.
17569 but for the day's work done@*
17570 as well as I was able;@*
17571 not for a seat upon the dais@*
17572 but at the common table.@*
17577 @chapter Appendices
17580 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
17581 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
17582 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
17583 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
17584 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
17585 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
17586 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
17587 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
17595 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
17596 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
17598 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
17599 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
17600 @file{http://quimby.gnus.org/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
17601 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
17602 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
17604 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
17605 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
17606 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
17607 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
17608 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
17609 appropriate name, don't you think?)
17611 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
17612 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
17613 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
17614 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
17617 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
17618 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
17619 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
17620 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
17621 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
17622 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
17623 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
17624 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
17625 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
17626 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
17630 @node Gnus Versions
17631 @subsection Gnus Versions
17632 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
17634 @cindex September Gnus
17635 @cindex Quassia Gnus
17637 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
17638 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
17639 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
17641 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
17642 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
17644 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
17645 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
17647 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
17648 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
17650 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
17651 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
17654 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
17655 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
17656 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
17657 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
17658 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
17662 @node Other Gnus Versions
17663 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
17666 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
17667 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
17668 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
17669 @sc{mime} capabilities.
17671 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
17672 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
17673 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
17674 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
17681 What's the point of Gnus?
17683 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
17684 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
17685 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
17686 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
17687 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
17688 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
17689 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
17690 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
17691 keep track of millions of people who post?
17693 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
17694 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
17695 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
17696 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
17697 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
17698 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
17699 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
17700 every one of you to explore and invent.
17702 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
17703 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
17706 @node Compatibility
17707 @subsection Compatibility
17709 @cindex compatibility
17710 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
17711 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
17712 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
17717 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
17721 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
17724 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
17727 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
17728 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
17729 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
17730 important variables have their values copied into their global
17731 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
17732 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
17734 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
17735 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
17736 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
17737 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
17738 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
17742 @cindex highlighting
17743 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
17744 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
17745 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
17746 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
17747 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
17748 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
17751 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
17752 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
17753 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
17754 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
17756 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
17757 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
17758 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
17759 to stop doing it the old way.
17761 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
17763 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
17765 @cindex reporting bugs
17767 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
17768 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
17769 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
17771 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
17772 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
17773 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
17774 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
17779 @subsection Conformity
17781 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
17782 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
17789 There are no known breaches of this standard.
17793 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
17795 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
17796 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
17797 We do have some breaches to this one.
17803 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
17804 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
17805 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
17806 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
17807 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
17812 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
17813 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
17814 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
17815 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
17819 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
17820 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
17825 @subsection Emacsen
17831 Gnus should work on :
17839 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
17843 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
17844 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
17847 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
17848 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
17849 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
17853 @node Gnus Development
17854 @subsection Gnus Development
17856 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
17857 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
17858 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
17859 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
17860 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
17861 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
17862 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
17863 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
17865 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
17866 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
17867 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
17868 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
17869 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
17872 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
17873 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
17874 In particular, @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
17875 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
17876 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
17878 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
17879 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
17880 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
17881 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
17882 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
17883 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
17884 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
17885 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
17886 usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
17887 can't be assumed to do so.
17892 @subsection Contributors
17893 @cindex contributors
17895 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
17896 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
17897 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
17898 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
17899 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
17900 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
17901 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
17902 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
17903 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
17904 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
17906 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
17912 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
17915 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
17916 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
17917 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
17918 functionality and stuff.
17921 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
17922 well as numerous other things).
17925 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
17928 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
17931 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
17934 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
17935 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
17938 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
17941 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
17942 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
17945 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
17948 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
17951 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
17954 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
17957 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
17958 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
17961 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
17964 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
17967 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
17970 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
17974 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
17977 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
17980 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
17983 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
17984 well as autoconf support.
17988 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
17989 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
17991 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
18000 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
18004 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
18014 Alexei V. Barantsev,
18029 Massimo Campostrini,
18034 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
18035 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
18039 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
18042 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
18048 Michael Welsh Duggan,
18053 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
18057 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
18065 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
18067 Michelangelo Grigni,
18071 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
18073 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
18075 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
18082 François Felix Ingrand,
18083 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
18084 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
18086 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
18097 Peter Skov Knudsen,
18098 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
18100 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
18101 Thor Kristoffersen,
18104 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
18122 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
18123 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
18130 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
18135 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
18139 John McClary Prevost,
18145 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
18150 Christian von Roques,
18153 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
18160 Philippe Schnoebelen,
18162 Randal L. Schwartz,
18176 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
18181 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
18197 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
18202 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
18203 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
18204 (550kB and counting).
18206 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
18209 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
18210 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
18214 @subsection New Features
18215 @cindex new features
18218 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
18219 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
18220 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
18221 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
18224 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
18225 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
18226 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
18230 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
18232 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
18237 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
18238 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
18241 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
18242 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
18245 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
18248 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
18249 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
18250 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
18253 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
18254 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
18255 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
18256 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
18259 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
18260 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
18263 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
18264 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
18265 (@pxref{The Active File}).
18268 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
18269 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
18272 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
18273 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
18274 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
18277 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
18278 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
18279 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
18282 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
18283 the @file{.emacs} file.
18286 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
18287 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18290 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
18291 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
18294 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
18295 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
18298 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
18299 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
18302 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
18303 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
18306 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
18309 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
18310 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
18313 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
18314 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
18317 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
18318 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
18321 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
18324 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
18325 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
18328 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
18332 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
18336 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
18337 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
18340 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
18346 @node September Gnus
18347 @subsubsection September Gnus
18351 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
18355 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
18360 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
18361 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
18365 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
18366 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
18370 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
18374 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
18375 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
18378 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
18382 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
18385 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
18388 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
18391 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
18395 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
18396 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
18399 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
18403 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
18407 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
18411 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
18415 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
18418 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
18419 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
18422 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
18426 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
18427 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
18430 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
18433 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
18434 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
18435 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
18438 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
18442 The Gnus cache is much faster.
18445 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
18449 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
18450 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18453 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
18454 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
18457 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
18458 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
18461 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
18462 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
18463 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
18466 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
18467 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
18470 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
18473 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
18476 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
18479 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
18482 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
18483 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
18486 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
18490 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
18493 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
18498 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
18501 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
18505 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
18508 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
18512 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
18515 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
18518 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
18519 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
18522 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
18523 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
18527 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
18528 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
18531 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
18535 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
18536 buffer to allow easier treatment.
18539 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
18542 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
18546 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
18550 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
18551 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
18554 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
18558 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
18559 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
18562 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
18563 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
18566 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
18570 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
18573 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
18576 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
18582 @subsubsection Red Gnus
18584 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
18588 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
18595 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
18598 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
18599 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
18602 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
18603 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
18607 Article washing status can be displayed in the
18608 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
18611 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
18614 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
18615 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
18618 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
18622 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
18623 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
18627 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
18628 Server Internals}).
18631 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
18635 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
18638 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
18639 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
18642 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
18643 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
18644 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
18647 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
18648 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
18651 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
18652 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
18655 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
18659 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
18660 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
18663 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
18664 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
18667 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
18671 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
18674 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
18678 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
18679 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
18682 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
18683 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
18686 A new command for reading collections of documents
18687 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
18688 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
18691 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
18695 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
18696 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
18699 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
18700 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
18701 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
18704 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
18705 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
18709 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
18713 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
18717 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
18722 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
18726 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
18730 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
18731 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
18734 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
18740 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
18742 New features in Gnus 5.6:
18747 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
18748 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
18749 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
18752 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
18753 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
18754 group, which is created automatically.
18757 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
18761 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
18764 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
18765 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
18768 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
18772 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
18775 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
18776 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
18779 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
18782 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
18783 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
18786 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
18787 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
18790 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
18791 control over simplification.
18794 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
18797 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
18801 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
18804 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
18807 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
18808 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
18809 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
18812 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
18813 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
18816 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
18820 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
18821 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
18824 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
18825 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
18828 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
18832 A history of where mails have been split is available.
18835 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
18838 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
18839 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
18842 A new function for citing in Message has been
18843 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
18846 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
18849 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
18853 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
18854 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
18857 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
18858 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
18861 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
18864 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
18869 @node Newest Features
18870 @subsection Newest Features
18873 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
18876 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
18878 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
18879 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
18882 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
18887 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
18888 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
18891 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
18894 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
18897 facep is not declared.
18900 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
18901 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
18904 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
18909 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
18910 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
18911 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
18912 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
18913 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
18914 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
18915 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
18920 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
18923 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
18926 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
18928 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
18929 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
18931 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
18933 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
18935 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
18936 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
18938 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
18940 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
18941 be marked as unread.
18943 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
18945 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
18947 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
18948 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
18950 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
18952 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
18954 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
18955 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
18957 topics that contain just groups with ticked
18958 articles aren't displayed.
18960 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
18962 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
18963 make the mail groups killed.
18965 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
18967 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
18968 and articles have to be removed.
18970 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
18973 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
18975 finding short score file names takes forever.
18977 canceling articles in foreign groups.
18979 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
18981 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
18983 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
18985 nnweb doesn't work properly.
18987 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
18989 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
18990 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
18994 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
18996 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
18997 bar and the Gnus bar.
19000 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
19001 `(canonize-message-id id)'
19002 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
19003 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
19004 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
19005 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
19010 nnml .overview directory with splits.
19014 postponed commands.
19016 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
19018 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
19021 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
19022 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
19024 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
19025 inherit copy prompts and save files.
19027 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
19029 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
19030 for backends that support that.
19032 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
19034 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
19035 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
19037 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
19038 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
19040 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
19042 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
19044 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
19046 server mode command: close/open all connections
19048 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
19049 has been changed before using it.
19051 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
19053 hide (sub)threads with low score.
19055 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
19057 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
19059 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
19060 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
19062 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
19063 contain groups that match a regexp.
19065 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
19068 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
19071 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
19072 from subject lines.
19074 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
19076 nntp-ping-before-connect
19078 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
19080 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
19081 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
19083 message annotations.
19085 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
19087 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
19088 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
19090 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
19095 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
19097 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
19099 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
19101 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
19102 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
19104 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
19106 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
19108 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
19109 finds and generate proper active ranges.
19111 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
19112 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
19114 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
19116 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
19118 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
19119 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
19121 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
19123 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
19125 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
19126 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
19129 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
19131 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
19133 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
19134 `C-c C-c' when posting.
19136 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
19139 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
19140 should be marker as expirable.
19142 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
19144 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
19145 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
19147 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
19148 Also consult Date headers.
19150 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
19152 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
19154 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
19155 Message-ID, delete the "original".
19157 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
19158 into a See-Also header.
19160 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
19162 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
19164 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
19165 should be listed as such and not as "K".
19167 generate font names dynamically.
19169 score file mode auto-alist.
19171 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
19172 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
19174 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
19175 absolutely all headers there is.
19177 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
19178 and pipe them to the process.
19180 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
19181 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
19182 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
19184 function for starting to edit a file to put into
19185 the current mail group.
19187 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
19189 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
19190 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
19192 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
19193 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
19195 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
19197 when replying to several process-marked articles,
19198 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
19200 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
19201 groups it has been mailed to.
19203 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
19205 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
19207 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
19209 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
19210 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
19212 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
19213 newlines) should be ignored.
19215 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
19216 groups in subtopics as well.
19218 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
19220 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
19223 add edit and forward secondary marks.
19225 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
19227 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
19229 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
19231 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
19233 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
19235 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
19236 or the formatted article.
19238 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
19240 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
19241 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
19243 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
19245 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
19247 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
19249 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
19250 even unread articles.
19252 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
19254 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
19256 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
19258 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
19260 canceling articles in foreign groups.
19262 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
19265 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
19266 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
19268 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
19269 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
19271 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
19273 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
19275 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
19276 from a particular server? Hm.
19278 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
19279 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
19281 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
19283 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
19284 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
19286 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
19287 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
19289 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
19290 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
19291 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
19294 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
19295 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
19297 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
19299 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
19301 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
19303 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
19306 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
19309 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
19310 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
19312 command to show and edit group scores
19314 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
19317 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
19319 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
19321 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
19322 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
19325 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
19326 that are of that length.
19328 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
19330 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
19332 asynchronous posting under nntp.
19334 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
19336 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
19338 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
19340 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
19341 a score lower than this number.
19343 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
19345 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
19347 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
19348 so that each copy can be edited separately.
19350 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
19352 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
19353 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
19355 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
19358 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
19359 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
19360 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
19361 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
19363 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
19366 command to remove all topic stuff.
19368 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
19369 and splitting the resulting digests.
19371 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
19373 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
19375 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
19376 matches an alist -- before saving.
19378 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
19380 variable to activate each group before entering them
19381 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
19383 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
19384 starting Gnus first if necessary.
19386 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
19387 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
19389 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
19391 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
19392 of several groups at once.
19394 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
19395 matches some regexp(s).
19397 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
19399 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
19401 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
19403 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
19405 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
19407 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
19409 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
19411 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
19412 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
19413 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
19414 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
19416 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
19417 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
19419 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
19421 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
19422 recently cited text.
19424 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
19426 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
19429 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
19430 server and just read the articles in the server
19432 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
19433 value of nnoo variables.
19435 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
19437 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
19438 listed in each group info.
19440 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
19443 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
19444 should only be applied to some groups.
19446 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
19447 mail-copies-to: never.
19449 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
19450 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
19452 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
19454 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
19457 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
19460 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
19462 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
19465 group user-defined meta-parameters.
19469 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
19471 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
19472 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
19473 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
19474 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
19475 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
19477 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
19478 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
19485 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
19486 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
19488 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
19489 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
19491 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
19492 "Return the date the group was last read."
19493 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
19498 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
19499 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
19500 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
19501 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
19505 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
19506 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
19508 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
19511 They could be used like this:
19515 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
19516 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
19517 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
19519 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
19521 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
19524 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
19527 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
19528 affect the summary line format.
19532 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
19534 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
19535 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
19537 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
19540 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
19542 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
19544 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
19546 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
19548 - For other files, just find them normally.
19550 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
19551 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
19554 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
19555 tell him what you are doing.
19558 Currently, I get prompted:
19562 decend into sci.something ?
19566 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
19567 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
19568 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
19569 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
19572 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
19573 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
19574 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
19575 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
19578 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
19579 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
19585 more than n blank lines
19587 more than m identical lines
19588 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
19590 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
19594 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
19595 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
19596 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
19597 "same" subject for threading purposes.
19600 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
19601 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
19602 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
19603 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
19606 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
19609 soup - bowl of soup
19610 score below - dim light bulb
19611 score over - bright light bulb
19614 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
19619 show-list-of-articles-in-group
19620 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
19621 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
19622 if (articles-selected)
19623 start-reading-selected-articles;
19624 junk-unread-articles;
19629 else if (key-pressed = '.')
19630 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
19631 select-thread-under-cursor;
19633 select-article-under-cursor;
19637 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
19638 if (more-pages-in-article)
19640 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
19647 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
19648 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
19649 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
19652 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
19653 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
19654 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
19655 the wildcard expression).
19658 It would be nice if it also handled
19660 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
19662 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
19667 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
19668 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
19669 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
19670 article versions) variable.
19672 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
19674 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
19675 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
19679 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
19682 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
19683 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
19684 (message-sent-hook).
19686 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
19689 * Enhancements to Gnus:
19693 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
19694 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
19697 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
19698 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
19699 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
19702 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
19703 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
19707 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
19710 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
19714 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
19715 the nnmail duplicate checking.
19718 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
19719 value of the signature file.
19722 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
19723 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
19726 (setq message-tab-alist
19727 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
19728 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
19730 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
19734 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
19737 a command to import a buffer into a group.
19740 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
19743 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
19744 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
19747 a command to process mark all unread articles.
19750 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
19751 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
19752 do more gathering by subject.
19755 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
19756 article numerical order.
19759 (gnus-thread-total-score
19760 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
19764 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
19767 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
19768 in the summary buffer.
19771 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
19772 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
19775 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
19776 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
19777 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
19778 and/or newsgroup name.
19781 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
19784 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
19787 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
19790 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
19791 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
19792 will automatically get the process mark.
19795 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
19796 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
19797 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
19800 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
19804 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
19805 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
19808 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
19809 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
19813 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
19814 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
19817 be able to post via DejaNews.
19820 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
19823 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
19824 allow them to be displayed separately.
19827 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
19828 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
19831 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
19832 articles that match a certain From header.
19835 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
19836 saving living summary buffers.
19839 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
19840 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
19843 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
19844 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
19847 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
19848 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
19851 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
19852 (goto-char (point-min))
19853 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
19854 (replace-match "`" t t))
19855 (goto-char (point-min))
19856 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
19857 (replace-match "'" t t))
19858 (goto-char (point-min))
19859 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
19860 (replace-match "\"" t t))
19861 (goto-char (point-min))
19862 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
19863 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
19868 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
19870 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
19871 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
19872 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
19873 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
19877 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
19880 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
19881 numbers and match on the age of the article.
19885 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
19886 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
19887 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
19889 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
19890 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
19892 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
19893 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
19898 all commands that react to the process mark should push
19899 the current process mark set onto the stack.
19902 gnus-article-hide-pgp
19903 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
19905 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
19907 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
19908 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
19911 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
19912 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
19915 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
19919 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
19920 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
19923 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
19926 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
19929 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
19932 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
19936 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
19942 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
19945 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
19949 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
19950 X characters in the body.
19953 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
19956 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
19959 format spec to "tab" to a position.
19962 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
19965 command to display all dormant articles.
19968 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
19971 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
19972 to something someone else has said.
19975 Read Netscape discussion groups:
19976 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
19979 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
19980 the displayed version.
19983 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
19987 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
19990 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
19991 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
19992 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
19996 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
19997 in the head or body.
20000 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
20003 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
20006 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
20007 in a special, unique buffer.
20010 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
20013 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
20014 is less than a certain number of days old.
20017 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
20020 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
20023 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
20024 file, for instance.
20027 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
20028 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
20029 dummy root instead of the first article.
20032 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
20033 topics for displaying.
20036 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
20037 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
20040 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
20043 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
20044 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
20045 summary buffer for each article.
20048 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
20051 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
20055 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
20058 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
20062 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
20065 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
20068 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
20069 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
20072 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
20073 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
20076 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
20077 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
20080 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
20081 timeout for all commands.
20084 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
20085 It should go somewhere else.
20088 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
20089 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
20090 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
20092 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
20093 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
20095 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
20096 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
20103 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
20104 --text follows this line--
20105 Sorry I killfiled you...
20107 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
20109 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
20114 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
20118 - Edit article's summary line.
20120 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
20122 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
20128 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
20132 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
20133 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
20137 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
20140 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
20143 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
20144 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
20145 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
20146 turn into a [-] button.)
20149 Solve the halting problem.
20158 @section The Manual
20162 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
20163 either @code{texi2dvi}
20165 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
20166 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
20168 to get what you hold in your hands now.
20170 The following conventions have been used:
20175 This is a @samp{string}
20178 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
20181 This is a @file{file}
20184 This is a @code{symbol}
20188 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
20192 (setq flargnoze "yes")
20195 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
20198 (setq flumphel 'yes)
20201 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
20202 ever get them confused.
20206 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
20207 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
20208 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
20209 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
20210 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
20211 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
20212 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
20218 @node On Writing Manuals
20219 @section On Writing Manuals
20221 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
20222 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
20223 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
20224 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
20225 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
20226 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
20229 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
20230 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
20231 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
20234 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
20235 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
20240 @section Terminology
20242 @cindex terminology
20247 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
20248 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
20249 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
20250 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
20251 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
20255 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
20256 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
20257 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
20258 not posting, and replying is not following up.
20262 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
20266 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
20271 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
20272 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
20273 is all done by the backends.
20277 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
20278 default, way of getting news.
20282 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
20283 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
20288 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
20289 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
20293 A message that has been posted as news.
20296 @cindex mail message
20297 A message that has been mailed.
20301 A mail message or news article
20305 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
20310 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
20315 A line from the head of an article.
20319 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
20320 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
20324 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
20325 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
20326 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
20327 normal @sc{head} format.
20331 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
20332 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
20333 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
20334 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
20335 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
20336 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
20338 @item killed groups
20339 @cindex killed groups
20340 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
20341 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
20343 @item zombie groups
20344 @cindex zombie groups
20345 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
20348 @cindex active file
20349 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
20350 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
20351 is rather large, as you might surmise.
20354 @cindex bogus groups
20355 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
20356 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
20357 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
20360 @cindex activating groups
20361 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
20362 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
20363 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
20367 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
20369 @item select method
20370 @cindex select method
20371 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
20374 @item virtual server
20375 @cindex virtual server
20376 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
20377 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
20378 whole is a virtual server.
20382 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
20383 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
20386 @item ephemeral groups
20387 @cindex ephemeral groups
20388 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
20389 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
20390 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
20393 @cindex solid groups
20394 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
20395 group buffer are solid groups.
20397 @item sparse articles
20398 @cindex sparse articles
20399 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
20400 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
20404 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
20405 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
20409 @cindex thread root
20410 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
20411 articles in the thread.
20415 An article that has responses.
20419 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
20423 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
20424 specified by RFC1153.
20430 @node Customization
20431 @section Customization
20432 @cindex general customization
20434 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
20435 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
20436 for some quite common situations.
20439 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
20440 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
20441 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
20442 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
20446 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
20447 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
20449 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
20450 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
20451 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
20455 @item gnus-read-active-file
20456 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
20457 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
20458 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
20459 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
20460 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
20462 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
20463 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
20464 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
20465 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
20469 @node Slow Terminal Connection
20470 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
20472 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
20473 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
20474 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
20478 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
20479 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
20480 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
20481 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
20482 horizontal and vertical recentering.
20484 @item gnus-visible-headers
20485 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
20486 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
20487 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
20488 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
20490 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
20492 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
20493 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
20494 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
20497 @item gnus-use-full-window
20498 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
20499 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
20500 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
20501 want to read them anyway.
20503 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
20504 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
20507 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
20508 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
20509 lines, which might save some time.
20513 @node Little Disk Space
20514 @subsection Little Disk Space
20517 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
20518 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
20522 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
20523 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
20524 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
20525 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20528 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
20529 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
20530 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
20531 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20534 @item gnus-save-killed-list
20535 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
20536 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
20537 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
20538 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
20544 @subsection Slow Machine
20545 @cindex slow machine
20547 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
20548 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
20550 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
20551 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
20553 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
20554 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
20555 summary buffer faster.
20559 @node Troubleshooting
20560 @section Troubleshooting
20561 @cindex troubleshooting
20563 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
20571 Make sure your computer is switched on.
20574 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
20575 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
20579 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
20580 like @samp{T-gnus 6.14.* (based on Pterodactyl Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*,
20581 FLIM 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you
20582 get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some
20583 old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
20586 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
20590 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
20591 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
20592 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
20593 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
20594 something like that.
20597 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
20600 @cindex reporting bugs
20602 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20604 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
20605 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
20606 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
20607 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
20609 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
20610 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
20611 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
20612 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
20615 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
20616 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
20617 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
20618 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
20619 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
20620 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
20622 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
20623 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
20624 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
20627 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
20628 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
20630 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
20631 @cindex ding mailing list
20632 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
20633 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
20637 @node Gnus Reference Guide
20638 @section Gnus Reference Guide
20640 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
20641 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
20642 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
20643 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
20646 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
20647 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
20648 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
20649 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
20650 and general methods of operation.
20653 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
20654 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
20655 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
20656 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
20657 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
20658 * Group Info:: The group info format.
20659 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
20660 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
20661 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
20665 @node Gnus Utility Functions
20666 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
20667 @cindex Gnus utility functions
20668 @cindex utility functions
20670 @cindex internal variables
20672 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
20673 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
20674 Below is a list of the most common ones.
20678 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
20679 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
20680 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
20682 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
20683 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
20684 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
20686 @item gnus-group-real-name
20687 @findex gnus-group-real-name
20688 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
20691 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
20692 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
20693 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
20694 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
20696 @item gnus-get-info
20697 @findex gnus-get-info
20698 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
20700 @item gnus-group-unread
20701 @findex gnus-group-unread
20702 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
20706 @findex gnus-active
20707 The active entry for @var{group}.
20709 @item gnus-set-active
20710 @findex gnus-set-active
20711 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
20713 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
20714 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
20715 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
20718 @item gnus-continuum-version
20719 @findex gnus-continuum-version
20720 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
20721 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
20724 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
20725 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
20726 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
20728 @item gnus-news-group-p
20729 @findex gnus-news-group-p
20730 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
20732 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
20733 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
20734 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
20736 @item gnus-server-to-method
20737 @findex gnus-server-to-method
20738 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
20740 @item gnus-server-equal
20741 @findex gnus-server-equal
20742 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
20744 @item gnus-group-native-p
20745 @findex gnus-group-native-p
20746 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
20748 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
20749 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
20750 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
20752 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
20753 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
20754 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
20756 @item group-group-find-parameter
20757 @findex group-group-find-parameter
20758 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
20759 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
20761 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
20762 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
20763 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
20765 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
20766 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
20767 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
20769 @item gnus-check-backend-function
20770 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
20771 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
20772 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
20775 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
20779 @item gnus-read-method
20780 @findex gnus-read-method
20781 Prompts the user for a select method.
20786 @node Backend Interface
20787 @subsection Backend Interface
20789 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
20790 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
20791 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
20792 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
20793 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
20794 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
20796 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
20797 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
20798 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
20799 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
20800 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
20801 been opened, the function should fail.
20803 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
20804 name. Take this example:
20808 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
20809 (nntp-port-number 4324))
20812 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
20813 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
20815 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
20816 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
20817 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
20819 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
20820 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
20821 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
20823 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
20824 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
20825 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
20826 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
20827 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
20828 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
20831 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
20832 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
20833 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
20834 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
20837 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
20840 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
20843 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
20844 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
20845 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
20846 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
20847 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
20848 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
20852 @node Required Backend Functions
20853 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
20857 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
20859 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
20860 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
20861 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
20862 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
20864 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
20865 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
20866 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
20867 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
20869 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
20870 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
20871 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
20872 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
20873 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
20874 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
20875 number, do maximum fetches.
20877 Here's an example HEAD:
20880 221 1056 Article retrieved.
20881 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
20882 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
20883 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
20884 Subject: Re: Something very droll
20885 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
20886 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
20888 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
20889 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
20890 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
20894 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
20895 these in the data buffer.
20897 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
20901 head = error / valid-head
20902 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
20903 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
20904 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
20905 header = <text> eol
20908 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
20909 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
20913 nov-buffer = *nov-line
20914 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
20915 field = <text except TAB>
20918 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
20922 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
20924 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
20925 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
20927 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
20928 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
20929 server. In fact, it should do so.
20931 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
20932 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
20935 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
20937 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
20938 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
20941 There should be no data returned.
20944 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
20946 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
20947 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
20948 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
20949 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
20951 There should be no data returned.
20954 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
20956 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
20957 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
20958 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
20959 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
20961 There should be no data returned.
20964 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
20966 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
20968 There should be no data returned.
20971 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
20973 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
20974 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
20975 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
20976 it would be nice if that were possible.
20978 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
20979 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
20980 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
20981 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
20982 into its article buffer.
20984 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
20985 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
20986 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
20987 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
20988 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
20989 on successful article retrieval.
20992 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
20994 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
20995 making @var{group} the current group.
20997 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
21000 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
21003 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
21006 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
21007 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
21008 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
21009 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
21010 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
21011 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
21012 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
21013 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
21016 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
21017 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
21018 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
21022 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21024 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
21025 a no-op on most backends.
21027 There should be no data returned.
21030 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
21032 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
21035 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
21038 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
21039 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
21042 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
21043 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
21046 active-file = *active-line
21047 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
21049 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
21052 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
21053 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
21054 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
21057 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
21059 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
21060 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
21061 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
21062 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
21063 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
21064 clear if the posting could not be completed.
21066 There should be no result data from this function.
21071 @node Optional Backend Functions
21072 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
21076 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
21078 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
21079 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
21080 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
21082 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
21083 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
21084 former is in the same format as the data from
21085 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
21086 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
21089 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
21093 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
21095 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
21096 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
21097 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
21098 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
21099 should return the (altered) group info.
21101 There should be no result data from this function.
21104 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
21106 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
21107 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
21108 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
21109 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
21110 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
21111 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
21112 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
21113 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
21115 There should be no result data from this function.
21118 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
21120 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
21121 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
21122 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
21123 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
21124 propagate the mark information to the server.
21126 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
21129 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
21132 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
21133 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
21134 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
21135 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
21136 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
21137 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
21138 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
21139 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
21140 not limit itself to these.
21142 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
21143 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
21144 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
21145 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
21147 An example action list:
21150 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
21151 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
21152 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
21155 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
21156 mark on (currently not used for anything).
21158 There should be no result data from this function.
21160 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
21162 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
21163 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
21164 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
21165 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
21166 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
21168 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
21169 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
21170 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
21173 There should be no result data from this function.
21176 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
21178 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
21179 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
21180 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
21181 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
21182 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
21183 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
21184 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
21186 There should be no result data from this function.
21189 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
21191 The result data from this function should be a description of
21195 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
21197 description = <text>
21200 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
21202 The result data from this function should be the description of all
21203 groups available on the server.
21206 description-buffer = *description-line
21210 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
21212 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
21213 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
21214 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
21217 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21219 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
21221 There should be no return data.
21224 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
21226 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
21227 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
21228 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
21229 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
21230 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
21233 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
21236 There should be no result data returned.
21239 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
21242 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
21243 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
21245 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
21246 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
21247 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
21248 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
21249 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
21250 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
21252 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
21253 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
21256 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
21257 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
21259 There should be no data returned.
21262 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
21264 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
21265 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
21266 this function in short order.
21268 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
21269 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
21271 There should be no data returned.
21274 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
21276 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
21277 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
21279 There should be no data returned.
21282 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
21284 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
21285 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
21286 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
21288 There should be no data returned.
21291 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
21293 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
21294 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
21296 There should be no data returned.
21301 @node Error Messaging
21302 @subsubsection Error Messaging
21304 @findex nnheader-report
21305 @findex nnheader-get-report
21306 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
21307 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
21308 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
21309 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
21310 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
21311 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
21314 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
21316 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
21319 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
21320 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
21321 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
21322 takes one argument---the server symbol.
21324 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
21325 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
21326 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
21329 @node Writing New Backends
21330 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
21332 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
21333 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
21334 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
21335 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
21336 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
21339 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
21340 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
21341 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
21343 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
21344 package called @code{nnoo}.
21346 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
21347 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
21353 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
21354 parameters. For instance:
21357 (nnoo-declare nndir
21361 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
21362 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
21365 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
21366 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
21367 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
21369 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
21370 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
21371 a function in those backends.
21374 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
21375 "Where nndir will look for groups."
21376 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
21379 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
21380 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
21381 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
21383 @item nnoo-define-basics
21384 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
21388 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
21392 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
21393 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
21394 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
21396 @item nnoo-map-functions
21397 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
21398 functions from the parent backends.
21401 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
21402 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21403 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
21406 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
21407 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
21408 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
21409 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
21412 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
21413 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
21414 haven't already been defined.
21420 nnmh-request-newgroups)
21424 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
21425 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
21426 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
21431 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
21434 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
21435 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
21439 (require 'nnheader)
21443 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
21445 (nnoo-declare nndir
21448 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
21449 "Where nndir will look for groups."
21450 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
21452 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
21453 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
21456 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
21457 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
21458 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
21460 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
21461 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
21463 ;;; Interface functions.
21465 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
21467 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
21468 (setq nndir-directory
21469 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
21471 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
21472 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
21473 (push `(nndir-current-group
21474 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
21476 (push `(nndir-top-directory
21477 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
21479 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
21481 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
21482 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21483 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21484 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
21485 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
21489 nnmh-status-message
21491 nnmh-request-newgroups))
21497 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
21498 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
21500 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
21501 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
21502 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
21503 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
21505 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
21506 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
21511 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
21514 The abilities can be:
21518 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
21520 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
21522 This backend supports both mail and news.
21524 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
21527 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
21528 articles and groups.
21530 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
21531 true for almost all backends.
21532 @item prompt-address
21533 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
21534 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
21535 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
21539 @node Mail-like Backends
21540 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
21542 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
21543 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
21544 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
21545 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
21548 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
21549 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
21550 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
21553 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
21554 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
21557 This function takes four parameters.
21561 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
21564 @item exit-function
21565 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
21567 @item temp-directory
21568 Where the temporary files should be stored.
21571 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
21572 performed for one group only.
21575 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
21576 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
21577 find the article number assigned to this article.
21579 The function also uses the following variables:
21580 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
21581 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
21582 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
21583 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
21587 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
21588 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
21592 @node Score File Syntax
21593 @subsection Score File Syntax
21595 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
21596 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
21597 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
21599 Here's a typical score file:
21603 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
21610 BNF definition of a score file:
21613 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
21614 element = rule / atom
21615 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
21616 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
21617 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
21618 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
21620 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
21621 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
21622 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
21623 date-header = "date"
21624 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
21625 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
21626 score = "nil" / <integer>
21627 date = "nil" / <natural number>
21628 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
21629 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
21630 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
21631 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
21632 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
21633 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
21634 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
21635 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
21636 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
21637 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
21638 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
21639 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
21640 exclude-files / read-only / touched
21641 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
21642 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
21643 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
21644 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
21645 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
21646 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
21647 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
21648 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
21649 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
21650 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
21651 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
21652 eval = "eval" space <form>
21653 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
21656 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
21659 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
21660 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
21661 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
21662 one looong line, then that's ok.
21664 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
21665 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21669 @subsection Headers
21671 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
21672 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
21673 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
21674 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
21676 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
21677 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
21678 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
21679 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
21680 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
21681 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
21682 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
21684 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
21685 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
21686 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
21687 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
21688 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
21690 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
21691 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
21697 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
21698 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
21700 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
21701 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
21702 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
21703 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
21705 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
21709 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
21712 is transformed into
21715 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
21718 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
21719 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
21722 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
21725 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
21726 is slightly tricky:
21729 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
21735 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
21738 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
21744 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
21751 and is equal to the previous range.
21753 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
21754 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
21755 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
21759 range = simple-range / normal-range
21760 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
21761 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
21762 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
21763 number *[ " " contents ]
21766 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
21767 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
21768 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
21769 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
21770 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
21775 @subsection Group Info
21777 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
21778 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
21779 describes the group.
21781 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
21782 second is a more complex one:
21785 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
21787 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
21788 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
21790 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
21793 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
21794 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
21795 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
21796 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
21797 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
21798 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
21799 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
21800 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
21801 this section is about.
21803 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
21804 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
21805 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
21807 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
21810 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
21811 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
21812 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
21813 group = quote <string> quote
21814 ralevel = rank / level
21815 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
21816 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
21817 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
21819 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
21820 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
21821 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
21822 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
21825 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
21826 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
21829 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
21830 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
21833 @item gnus-info-group
21834 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
21835 @findex gnus-info-group
21836 @findex gnus-info-set-group
21837 Get/set the group name.
21839 @item gnus-info-rank
21840 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
21841 @findex gnus-info-rank
21842 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
21843 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
21845 @item gnus-info-level
21846 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
21847 @findex gnus-info-level
21848 @findex gnus-info-set-level
21849 Get/set the group level.
21851 @item gnus-info-score
21852 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
21853 @findex gnus-info-score
21854 @findex gnus-info-set-score
21855 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
21857 @item gnus-info-read
21858 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
21859 @findex gnus-info-read
21860 @findex gnus-info-set-read
21861 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
21863 @item gnus-info-marks
21864 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
21865 @findex gnus-info-marks
21866 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
21867 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
21869 @item gnus-info-method
21870 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
21871 @findex gnus-info-method
21872 @findex gnus-info-set-method
21873 Get/set the group select method.
21875 @item gnus-info-params
21876 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
21877 @findex gnus-info-params
21878 @findex gnus-info-set-params
21879 Get/set the group parameters.
21882 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
21883 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
21885 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
21886 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
21887 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
21888 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
21891 @node Extended Interactive
21892 @subsection Extended Interactive
21893 @cindex interactive
21894 @findex gnus-interactive
21896 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
21897 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
21898 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
21901 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
21902 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
21907 The best thing to do would have been to implement
21908 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
21909 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
21910 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
21911 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
21912 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
21913 @code{interactive}.
21915 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
21920 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
21921 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
21925 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
21926 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
21927 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
21930 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
21934 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
21938 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
21944 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
21945 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
21949 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
21950 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
21951 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
21953 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
21954 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
21955 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
21956 Gnus, that's very useful.
21958 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
21959 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
21960 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
21961 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
21962 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
21963 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
21964 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
21965 following function:
21968 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
21972 (,function ,@@args))
21976 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
21977 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
21978 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
21981 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
21982 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
21983 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
21985 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
21986 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
21987 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
21990 @node Various File Formats
21991 @subsection Various File Formats
21994 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
21995 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
21999 @node Active File Format
22000 @subsubsection Active File Format
22002 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
22003 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
22006 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
22009 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
22010 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
22011 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
22012 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
22013 no.general 1000 900 y
22016 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
22019 active = *group-line
22020 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
22021 group = <non-white-space string>
22023 high-number = <non-negative integer>
22024 low-number = <positive integer>
22025 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
22028 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
22029 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
22032 @node Newsgroups File Format
22033 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
22035 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
22036 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
22037 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
22040 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
22041 Here's the definition:
22045 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
22046 group = <non-white-space string>
22048 description = <string>
22053 @node Emacs for Heathens
22054 @section Emacs for Heathens
22056 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
22057 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
22058 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
22059 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
22060 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
22061 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
22062 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
22066 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
22067 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
22072 @subsection Keystrokes
22076 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
22079 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
22082 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
22083 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
22084 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
22085 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
22086 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
22087 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
22089 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
22090 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
22091 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
22092 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
22093 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
22094 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
22095 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
22097 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
22098 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
22099 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
22100 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
22101 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
22102 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
22103 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
22105 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
22106 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
22107 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
22108 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
22109 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
22115 @subsection Emacs Lisp
22117 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
22118 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
22119 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
22120 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
22122 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
22123 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
22124 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
22125 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
22126 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
22127 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
22128 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
22131 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
22132 write the following:
22135 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
22138 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
22139 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
22140 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
22143 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
22144 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
22145 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
22146 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
22147 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
22149 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
22150 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
22151 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
22155 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
22159 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
22162 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
22163 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
22166 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
22169 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
22170 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
22173 @include gnus-faq.texi