4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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281 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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290 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
291 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
294 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
295 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
296 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
297 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
298 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
299 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
300 License'' in the Emacs manual.
302 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
303 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
304 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
306 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
307 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
308 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
309 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
317 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
319 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
320 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
322 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
323 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
324 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
325 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
326 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
327 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
328 License'' in the Emacs manual.
330 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
331 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
332 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
334 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
335 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
336 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
337 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
343 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
345 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
348 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
349 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
350 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
352 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
353 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
354 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
355 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
356 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
357 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
358 License'' in the Emacs manual.
360 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
361 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
362 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
364 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
365 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
366 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
367 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
376 @top The gnus Newsreader
380 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
381 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
382 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
385 T-gnus provides @sc{mime} features based on @sc{semi} API. So T-gnus
386 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
387 other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
388 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
389 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
390 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
392 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
403 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
404 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
406 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
407 being accused of plagiarism:
409 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
410 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
411 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
412 can even read news with it!
414 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
415 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
416 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
417 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
418 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
424 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
425 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
426 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
427 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
428 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
429 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
430 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
431 * Various:: General purpose settings.
432 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
433 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
434 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
435 * Key Index:: Key Index.
438 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
442 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
443 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
444 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
445 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
446 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
447 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
448 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
449 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
450 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
451 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
452 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
456 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
457 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
458 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
462 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
463 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
464 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
465 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
466 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
467 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
468 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
469 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
470 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
471 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
472 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
473 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
474 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
475 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
476 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
477 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
478 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
482 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
483 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
484 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
488 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
489 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
490 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
491 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
492 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
496 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
497 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
498 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
499 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
500 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
504 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
505 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
506 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
507 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
508 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
510 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
511 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
512 * Threading:: How threads are made.
513 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
514 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
515 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
516 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
517 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
518 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
519 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
520 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
521 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
522 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
523 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
524 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
525 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
526 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
527 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
528 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
529 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
530 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
531 or reselecting the current group.
532 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
533 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
534 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
535 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
537 Summary Buffer Format
539 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
540 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
541 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
542 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
546 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
547 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
549 Reply, Followup and Post
551 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
552 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
553 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
554 * Canceling and Superseding::
558 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
559 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
560 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
562 * Generic Marking Commands::
563 * Setting Process Marks::
567 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
568 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
569 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
573 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
574 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
576 Customizing Threading
578 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
579 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
580 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
581 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
585 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
586 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
587 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
588 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
589 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
590 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
594 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
595 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
596 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
600 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
601 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
602 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
603 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
604 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
605 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
606 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
607 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
608 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
609 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
611 Alternative Approaches
613 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
614 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
616 Various Summary Stuff
618 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
619 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
620 * Summary Generation Commands::
621 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
625 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
626 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
627 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
628 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
629 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
633 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
634 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
635 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
636 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
637 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
638 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
639 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
640 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
644 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
645 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
646 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
647 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
648 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
649 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
650 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
651 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
655 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
656 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
657 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
658 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
659 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
660 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
661 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
665 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
666 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
670 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
671 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
672 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
676 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
677 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
678 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
679 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
680 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
681 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
682 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
683 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
684 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
685 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
686 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
687 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
688 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
692 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
693 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
694 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
696 Choosing a Mail Back End
698 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
699 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
700 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
701 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
702 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
703 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
708 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
709 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
710 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
711 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
712 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
713 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
717 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
718 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
719 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
723 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
724 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
725 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
726 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
727 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
731 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
735 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
736 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
737 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
741 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
742 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
746 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
747 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
748 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
749 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
750 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
751 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
752 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
753 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
754 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
755 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
756 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
760 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
761 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
762 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
766 * Group Agent Commands::
767 * Summary Agent Commands::
768 * Server Agent Commands::
772 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
773 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
774 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
775 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
776 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
777 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
778 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
779 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
780 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
781 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
782 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
783 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
784 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
785 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
786 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
787 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
788 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
792 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
793 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
794 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
795 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
799 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
800 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
801 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
805 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
806 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
807 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
808 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
809 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
810 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
811 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
812 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
813 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
814 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
815 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
816 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
817 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
818 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
819 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
820 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
821 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
822 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
823 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
827 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
828 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
829 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
830 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
831 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
832 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
833 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
834 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
838 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
839 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
840 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
841 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
842 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
846 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
847 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
848 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
849 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
850 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
854 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
855 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
856 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
860 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
861 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
862 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
863 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
864 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
865 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
866 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
867 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
868 * Frequently Asked Questions::
872 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
873 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
874 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
875 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
876 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
877 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
878 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
879 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
880 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
884 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
885 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
886 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
887 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
888 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
892 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
893 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
894 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
895 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
899 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
900 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
901 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
902 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
903 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
904 * Group Info:: The group info format.
905 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
906 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
907 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
911 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
912 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
913 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
914 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
915 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
916 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
920 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
921 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
925 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
926 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
932 @chapter Starting gnus
937 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
938 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
941 @findex gnus-other-frame
942 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
943 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
944 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
946 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
947 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
948 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
950 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
951 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
954 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
955 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
956 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
957 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
958 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
959 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
960 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
961 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
962 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
963 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
964 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
968 @node Finding the News
969 @section Finding the News
972 @vindex gnus-select-method
974 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
975 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
976 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
977 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
980 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
981 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
984 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
987 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
990 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
993 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
994 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
995 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
997 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
999 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1000 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1001 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1002 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1003 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1004 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1006 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1007 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1008 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1009 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1011 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1012 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1013 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1014 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1015 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1016 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1017 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1018 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1019 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1022 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1024 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1025 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1026 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1027 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1028 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1029 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1031 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1033 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1034 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1035 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1036 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1037 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1038 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1041 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1042 you would typically set this variable to
1045 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1049 @node The First Time
1050 @section The First Time
1051 @cindex first time usage
1053 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1054 be subscribed by default.
1056 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1057 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1058 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1059 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1062 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1063 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1064 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1066 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1067 help you with most common problems.
1069 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1070 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1074 @node The Server is Down
1075 @section The Server is Down
1076 @cindex server errors
1078 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1079 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1080 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1082 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1083 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1084 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1085 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1086 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1087 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1088 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1090 @findex gnus-no-server
1091 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1093 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1094 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1095 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1096 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1097 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1098 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1099 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1103 @section Slave Gnusae
1106 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1107 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1108 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1109 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1111 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1112 @code{.newsrc} file.
1114 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1115 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1116 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1117 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1118 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1119 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1120 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1122 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1123 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1124 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1125 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1126 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1127 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1128 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1129 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1131 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1132 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1134 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1135 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1136 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1137 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1138 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1140 @node Fetching a Group
1141 @section Fetching a Group
1142 @cindex fetching a group
1144 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1145 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1146 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1147 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1148 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1149 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1155 @cindex subscription
1157 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1158 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1159 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1160 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1161 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1162 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1163 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1164 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1165 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1168 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1169 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1170 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1174 @node Checking New Groups
1175 @subsection Checking New Groups
1177 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1178 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1179 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1180 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1181 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1182 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1183 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1184 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1185 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1186 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1188 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1189 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1190 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1191 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1192 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1193 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1194 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1195 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1196 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1197 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1198 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1200 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1201 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1202 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1203 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1204 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1205 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1208 @node Subscription Methods
1209 @subsection Subscription Methods
1211 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1212 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1213 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1215 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1216 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1218 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1222 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1224 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1225 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1226 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1228 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1229 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1230 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1231 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1233 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1234 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1235 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1239 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1240 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1241 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1242 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1243 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1244 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1245 up. Or something like that.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1249 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1250 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1251 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1253 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1254 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1255 Kill all new groups.
1257 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1258 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1259 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1260 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1261 topic parameter that looks like
1267 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1270 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1275 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1276 A closely related variable is
1277 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1278 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1279 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1280 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1283 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1284 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1285 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1286 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1289 @node Filtering New Groups
1290 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1292 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1293 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1294 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1297 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1300 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1301 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1302 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1303 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1304 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1305 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1306 subscribing these groups.
1307 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1308 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1310 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1311 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1312 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1313 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1314 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1315 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1316 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1317 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1319 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1320 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1321 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1322 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1323 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1324 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1325 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1326 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1327 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1328 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1331 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1332 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1335 @node Changing Servers
1336 @section Changing Servers
1337 @cindex changing servers
1339 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1340 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1341 very flaky and you want to use another.
1343 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1344 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1348 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1349 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1350 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1351 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1354 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1355 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1356 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1357 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1359 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1360 @findex gnus-change-server
1361 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1362 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1363 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1364 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1365 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1367 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1368 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1369 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1370 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1371 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1373 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1374 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1375 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1376 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1377 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1378 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1380 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1381 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1382 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1383 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1385 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1386 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1387 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1388 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1389 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1390 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1391 cache for all groups).
1395 @section Startup Files
1396 @cindex startup files
1401 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1402 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1404 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1405 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1406 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1407 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1408 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1409 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1410 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1412 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1413 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1414 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1415 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1416 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1417 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1419 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1420 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1421 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1422 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1423 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1424 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1425 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1426 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1427 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1428 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1430 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1431 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1432 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1433 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1434 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1435 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1436 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1437 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1438 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1439 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1440 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1441 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1443 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1444 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1445 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1446 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1448 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1449 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1450 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1451 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1452 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1453 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1454 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1455 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1456 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1457 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1460 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1461 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1463 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1464 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1467 @vindex gnus-init-file
1468 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1469 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1470 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1471 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1472 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1473 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1474 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1475 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1476 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1482 @cindex dribble file
1485 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1486 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1487 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1488 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1489 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1492 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1493 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1496 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1497 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1498 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1500 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1501 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1502 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1503 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1504 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1505 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1507 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1508 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1509 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1512 @node The Active File
1513 @section The Active File
1515 @cindex ignored groups
1517 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1518 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1519 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1521 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1522 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1523 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1524 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1525 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1526 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1527 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1530 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1531 @c if you set it to anything else.
1533 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1535 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1536 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1537 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1539 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1540 you actually subscribe to.
1542 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1543 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1544 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1545 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1547 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1548 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1549 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1550 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1551 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1552 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1554 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1555 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1556 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1559 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1560 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1561 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1562 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1563 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1564 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1566 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1567 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1569 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1570 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1572 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1573 secondary select methods.
1576 @node Startup Variables
1577 @section Startup Variables
1581 @item gnus-load-hook
1582 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1583 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1584 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1585 times you start gnus.
1587 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1588 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1589 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1591 @item gnus-startup-hook
1592 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1593 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1595 @item gnus-started-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1597 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1600 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1601 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1602 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1603 generating the group buffer.
1605 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1606 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1607 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1608 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1609 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1610 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1611 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1612 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1614 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1615 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1616 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1617 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1618 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1619 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1621 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1622 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1623 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1625 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1626 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1627 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1629 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1630 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1631 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1632 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1638 @chapter Group Buffer
1639 @cindex group buffer
1641 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1643 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1644 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1645 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1646 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1647 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1648 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1649 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1650 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1651 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1652 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1653 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1654 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1655 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1656 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1657 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1658 @c human rights at 9...
1661 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1662 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1663 long as gnus is active.
1667 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1668 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1669 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1670 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1671 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1672 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1673 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1674 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1680 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1681 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1682 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1683 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1684 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1685 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1686 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1687 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1688 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1689 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1690 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1691 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1692 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1693 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1694 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1695 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1696 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1700 @node Group Buffer Format
1701 @section Group Buffer Format
1704 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1705 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1706 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1710 @node Group Line Specification
1711 @subsection Group Line Specification
1712 @cindex group buffer format
1714 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1715 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1717 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1720 25: news.announce.newusers
1721 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1726 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1727 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1728 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1729 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1731 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1732 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1733 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1734 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1735 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1736 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1738 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1740 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1741 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1742 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1743 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1744 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1746 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1747 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1748 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1750 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1755 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1758 Whether the group is subscribed.
1761 Level of subscribedness.
1764 Number of unread articles.
1767 Number of dormant articles.
1770 Number of ticked articles.
1773 Number of read articles.
1776 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1777 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1779 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1780 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1781 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1782 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1783 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1784 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1785 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1786 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1789 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1792 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1801 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1802 comment element in the group parameters.
1805 Newsgroup description.
1808 @samp{m} if moderated.
1811 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1820 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1824 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1827 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1828 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1829 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1830 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1831 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1834 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1836 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1840 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1843 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1847 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1848 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1849 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1850 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1851 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1852 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1857 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1858 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1859 group, or a bogus native group.
1862 @node Group Modeline Specification
1863 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1864 @cindex group modeline
1866 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1867 The mode line can be changed by setting
1868 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1869 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1873 The native news server.
1875 The native select method.
1879 @node Group Highlighting
1880 @subsection Group Highlighting
1881 @cindex highlighting
1882 @cindex group highlighting
1884 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1885 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1886 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1887 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1888 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1890 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1894 (cond (window-system
1895 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1896 (defface my-group-face-1
1897 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1898 (defface my-group-face-2
1899 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1900 (defface my-group-face-3
1901 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1902 (defface my-group-face-4
1903 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1904 (defface my-group-face-5
1905 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1907 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1908 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1909 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1910 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1911 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1912 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1915 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1917 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1924 The number of unread articles in the group.
1928 Whether the group is a mail group.
1930 The level of the group.
1932 The score of the group.
1934 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1936 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1937 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1939 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1940 topic being inserted.
1943 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1944 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1945 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1947 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1948 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1949 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1950 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1951 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1954 @node Group Maneuvering
1955 @section Group Maneuvering
1956 @cindex group movement
1958 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1959 expected, hopefully.
1965 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1966 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1967 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1973 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1974 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1975 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1979 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1980 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1984 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1985 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1989 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1990 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1991 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1995 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1996 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1997 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2000 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2006 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2007 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2008 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2013 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2014 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2015 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2019 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2020 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2021 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2024 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2025 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2026 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2027 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2031 @node Selecting a Group
2032 @section Selecting a Group
2033 @cindex group selection
2038 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2039 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2040 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2041 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2042 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2043 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2044 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2045 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2046 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2047 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2049 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2050 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2051 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2053 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2054 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2059 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2060 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2061 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2062 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2063 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2067 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2068 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2069 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2070 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2071 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2072 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2073 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2074 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2075 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2076 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2079 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2080 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2081 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2082 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2083 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2086 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2087 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2088 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2089 doing any processing of its contents
2090 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2091 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2092 manner will have no permanent effects.
2096 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2097 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2098 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2099 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2100 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2101 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2102 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2103 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2106 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2107 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2108 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2109 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2110 Which article this is is controlled by the
2111 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2117 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2120 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2123 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2125 @item unseen-or-unread
2126 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2127 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2131 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2135 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2136 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2138 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2139 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2140 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2141 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2145 @node Subscription Commands
2146 @section Subscription Commands
2147 @cindex subscription
2155 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2156 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2157 Toggle subscription to the current group
2158 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2164 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2165 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2166 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2167 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2173 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2174 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2175 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2181 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2182 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2185 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2186 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2187 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2188 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2189 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2195 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2196 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2200 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2201 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2204 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2205 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2206 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2207 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2208 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2209 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2210 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2211 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2212 @file{.newsrc} file.
2216 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2226 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2227 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2228 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2229 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2230 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2231 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2236 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2237 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2238 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2242 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2243 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2244 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2246 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2247 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2248 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2249 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2250 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2251 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2258 @section Group Levels
2262 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2263 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2264 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2265 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2266 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2268 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2274 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2275 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2276 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2277 prompted for a level.
2280 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2281 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2282 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2283 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2284 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2285 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2286 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2287 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2288 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2289 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2290 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2291 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2292 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2293 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2294 reasons of efficiency.
2296 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2297 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2299 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2300 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2301 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2302 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2303 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2304 groups are hidden, in a way.
2306 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2307 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2308 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2309 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2310 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2311 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2313 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2314 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2315 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2316 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2317 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2318 list of killed groups.)
2320 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2321 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2322 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2324 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2325 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2326 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2327 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2328 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2329 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2330 relevant valid ranges.
2332 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2333 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2334 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2335 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2336 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2337 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2340 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2341 one with the best level.
2343 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2344 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2345 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2348 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2349 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2350 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2351 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2354 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2355 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2356 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2357 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2359 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2360 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2361 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2362 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2363 to 5. The default is 6.
2367 @section Group Score
2372 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2373 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2374 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2377 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2378 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2379 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2380 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2381 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2382 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2383 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2384 least significant part.))
2386 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2387 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2388 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2389 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2390 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2391 action after each summary exit, you can add
2392 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2393 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2394 slow things down somewhat.
2397 @node Marking Groups
2398 @section Marking Groups
2399 @cindex marking groups
2401 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2402 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2403 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2404 bidding on those groups.
2406 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2407 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2408 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2416 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2417 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2423 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2424 Remove the mark from the current group
2425 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2429 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2430 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2434 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2435 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2439 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2440 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2444 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2445 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2446 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2449 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2451 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2452 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2453 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2454 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2455 the command to be executed.
2458 @node Foreign Groups
2459 @section Foreign Groups
2460 @cindex foreign groups
2462 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2463 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2464 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2465 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2472 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2473 @cindex making groups
2474 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2475 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2476 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2480 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2481 @cindex renaming groups
2482 Rename the current group to something else
2483 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2484 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2490 @findex gnus-group-customize
2491 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2495 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2496 @cindex renaming groups
2497 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2498 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2502 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2503 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2504 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2508 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2509 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2510 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2514 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2516 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2517 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2522 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2523 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2527 @cindex (ding) archive
2528 @cindex archive group
2529 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2530 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2531 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2532 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2533 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2534 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2535 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2539 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2541 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2542 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2543 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2544 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2548 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2550 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2551 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2552 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2556 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2557 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2559 Make a group based on some file or other
2560 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2561 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2562 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2563 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2564 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2565 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2566 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2567 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2568 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2572 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2573 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2574 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2575 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2579 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2583 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2584 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2585 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2586 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2587 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2588 @xref{Web Searches}.
2590 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2591 to a particular group by using a match string like
2592 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2595 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2596 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2597 This function will delete the current group
2598 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2599 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2600 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2601 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2602 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2606 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2607 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2608 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2612 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2613 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2614 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2617 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2620 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2621 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2622 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2623 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2624 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2625 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2629 @node Group Parameters
2630 @section Group Parameters
2631 @cindex group parameters
2633 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2634 Here's an example group parameter list:
2637 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2641 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2642 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2643 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2644 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2646 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2647 is an alist of regexps and values.
2649 The following group parameters can be used:
2654 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2657 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2660 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2661 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2662 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2663 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2664 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2666 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2667 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2668 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2669 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2670 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2671 list address instead.
2673 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2677 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2680 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2683 It is totally ignored
2684 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2685 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2687 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2688 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2689 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2690 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2691 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2693 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2694 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2695 sending the message.
2697 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2698 @cindex Mail List Groups
2699 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2700 entering summary buffer.
2702 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2707 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2708 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2709 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2710 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2711 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2712 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2714 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2715 directly uses this group parameter.
2719 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2720 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2721 of whether it has any unread articles.
2723 @item broken-reply-to
2724 @cindex broken-reply-to
2725 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2726 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2727 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2728 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2729 broken behavior. So there!
2733 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2734 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2738 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2739 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2740 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2745 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2746 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2747 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2748 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2749 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2750 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2751 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2752 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2753 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2757 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2758 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2759 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2761 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2764 @cindex total-expire
2765 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2766 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2767 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2768 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2771 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2775 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2776 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2777 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2778 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2779 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2780 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2783 @cindex score file group parameter
2784 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2785 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2786 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2789 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2790 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2791 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2792 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2795 @cindex admin-address
2796 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2797 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2798 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2799 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2803 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2804 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2808 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2811 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2812 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2815 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2819 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2821 Here are some examples:
2825 Display only unread articles.
2828 Display everything except expirable articles.
2830 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2831 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2835 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2836 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2837 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2838 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2839 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2843 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2844 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2845 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2849 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2850 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2851 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2855 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2856 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2857 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2859 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2861 @item ignored-charsets
2862 @cindex ignored-charset
2863 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2864 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2865 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2867 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2870 @cindex posting-style
2871 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2872 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2873 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2874 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2875 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2877 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2878 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2879 like this in the group parameters:
2884 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2889 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2890 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2894 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2895 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2896 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2897 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2898 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2902 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2903 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2904 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2905 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2907 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2908 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2909 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2910 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2913 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2914 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2918 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2921 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2922 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2923 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2924 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2925 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2926 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2927 @code{eval}ed there.
2929 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2930 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2931 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2932 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2933 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2934 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2935 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2936 parameters for the group.
2939 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2940 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2941 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2942 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2943 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2947 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2948 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2949 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2950 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2951 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2953 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2954 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2958 (setq gnus-parameters
2960 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2961 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2962 (gnus-summary-line-format
2963 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2967 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2971 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2975 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2978 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2979 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2982 @node Listing Groups
2983 @section Listing Groups
2984 @cindex group listing
2986 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2994 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2995 List all groups that have unread articles
2996 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2997 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2998 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2999 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3006 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3007 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3008 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3009 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3010 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3011 unsubscribed groups).
3015 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3016 List all unread groups on a specific level
3017 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3018 with no unread articles.
3022 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3023 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3024 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3025 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3030 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3031 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3035 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3036 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3037 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3042 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3046 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3047 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3048 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3049 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3050 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3051 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3052 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3053 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3057 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3058 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3059 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3063 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3064 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3065 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3069 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3070 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3074 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3075 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3079 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3080 List groups limited within the current selection
3081 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3086 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3090 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3091 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3095 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3096 @cindex visible group parameter
3097 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3098 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3099 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3100 get the same effect.
3102 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3103 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3104 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3105 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3106 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3109 @node Sorting Groups
3110 @section Sorting Groups
3111 @cindex sorting groups
3113 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3114 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3115 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3116 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3117 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3118 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3123 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3124 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3125 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3127 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3128 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3129 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3131 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3132 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3133 Sort by group level.
3135 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3136 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3137 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3141 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3142 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3144 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3145 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3146 Sort by number of unread articles.
3148 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3150 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3152 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3153 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3154 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3159 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3160 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3164 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3165 some sorting criteria:
3169 @kindex G S a (Group)
3170 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3171 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3172 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3175 @kindex G S u (Group)
3176 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3177 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3178 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3181 @kindex G S l (Group)
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3183 Sort the group buffer by group level
3184 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3187 @kindex G S v (Group)
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3189 Sort the group buffer by group score
3190 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3193 @kindex G S r (Group)
3194 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3195 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3196 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3199 @kindex G S m (Group)
3200 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3201 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3202 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3206 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3207 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3209 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3210 commands will sort in reverse order.
3212 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3216 @kindex G P a (Group)
3217 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3218 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3219 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3222 @kindex G P u (Group)
3223 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3224 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3225 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3228 @kindex G P l (Group)
3229 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3230 Sort the groups by group level
3231 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3234 @kindex G P v (Group)
3235 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3236 Sort the groups by group score
3237 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3240 @kindex G P r (Group)
3241 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3242 Sort the groups by group rank
3243 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3246 @kindex G P m (Group)
3247 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3248 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3249 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3252 @kindex G P s (Group)
3253 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3254 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3258 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3262 @node Group Maintenance
3263 @section Group Maintenance
3264 @cindex bogus groups
3269 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3270 Find bogus groups and delete them
3271 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3275 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3276 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3277 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3278 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3279 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3283 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3284 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3285 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3286 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3287 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3288 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3291 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3292 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3293 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3294 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3299 @node Browse Foreign Server
3300 @section Browse Foreign Server
3301 @cindex foreign servers
3302 @cindex browsing servers
3307 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3308 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3309 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3310 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3313 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3314 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3315 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3316 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3318 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3323 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3324 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3328 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3329 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3332 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3333 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3334 Enter the current group and display the first article
3335 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3338 @kindex RET (Browse)
3339 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3340 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3344 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3345 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3346 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3352 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3353 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3357 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3358 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3362 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3363 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3364 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3369 @section Exiting gnus
3370 @cindex exiting gnus
3372 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3377 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3378 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3379 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3380 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3384 @findex gnus-group-exit
3385 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3386 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3390 @findex gnus-group-quit
3391 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3392 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3395 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3396 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3397 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3398 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3399 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3404 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3405 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3406 trying to customize meta-variables.
3411 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3412 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3413 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3419 @section Group Topics
3422 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3423 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3424 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3425 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3426 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3427 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3431 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3432 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3443 2: alt.religion.emacs
3446 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3448 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3449 13: comp.sources.unix
3452 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3454 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3455 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3456 is a toggling command.)
3458 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3459 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3460 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3461 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3464 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3465 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3466 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3469 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3473 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3474 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3475 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3476 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3477 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3481 @node Topic Commands
3482 @subsection Topic Commands
3483 @cindex topic commands
3485 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3486 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3487 definitions slightly.
3489 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3490 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3491 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3492 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3493 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3494 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3496 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3503 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3504 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3505 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3509 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3511 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3512 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3513 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3514 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3517 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3518 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3519 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3520 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3524 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3525 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3526 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3527 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3533 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3534 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3535 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3539 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3540 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3541 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3544 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3545 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3546 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3547 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3548 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3550 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3551 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3555 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3556 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3563 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3565 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3566 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3567 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3568 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3569 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3570 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3574 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3580 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3581 Move the current group to some other topic
3582 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3583 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3587 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3588 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3592 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3593 Copy the current group to some other topic
3594 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3595 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3599 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3600 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3601 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3605 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3606 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3607 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3611 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3612 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3613 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3614 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3615 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3616 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3617 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3620 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3621 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3625 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3626 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3627 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3631 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3632 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3633 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3637 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3638 Toggle hiding empty topics
3639 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3643 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3644 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3645 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3648 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3649 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3650 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3651 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3654 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3655 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3656 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3657 expiry process (if any)
3658 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3662 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3663 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3666 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3667 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3668 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3672 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3673 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3674 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3677 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3679 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3682 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3683 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3684 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3688 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3689 @cindex group parameters
3690 @cindex topic parameters
3692 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3693 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3698 @node Topic Variables
3699 @subsection Topic Variables
3700 @cindex topic variables
3702 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3703 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3705 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3706 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3707 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3720 Number of groups in the topic.
3722 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3724 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3727 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3728 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3729 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3732 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3733 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3735 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3736 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3737 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3741 @subsection Topic Sorting
3742 @cindex topic sorting
3744 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3750 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3751 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3752 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3753 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3756 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3757 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3758 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3759 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3762 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3763 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3764 Sort the current topic by group level
3765 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3768 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3769 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3770 Sort the current topic by group score
3771 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3774 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3775 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3776 Sort the current topic by group rank
3777 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3780 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3781 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3782 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3783 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3786 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3787 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3788 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3793 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3794 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3795 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3796 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3800 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3801 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3805 @node Topic Topology
3806 @subsection Topic Topology
3807 @cindex topic topology
3810 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3816 2: alt.religion.emacs
3819 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3821 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3822 13: comp.sources.unix
3825 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3826 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3827 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3832 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3833 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3837 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3838 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3839 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3840 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3841 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3842 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3844 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3845 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3846 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3849 @node Topic Parameters
3850 @subsection Topic Parameters
3851 @cindex topic parameters
3853 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3854 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3855 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3857 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3862 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3863 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3864 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3867 @item subscribe-level
3868 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3869 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3870 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3874 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3875 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3876 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3877 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3883 2: alt.religion.emacs
3887 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3889 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3890 13: comp.sources.unix
3894 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3895 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3896 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3897 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3898 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3899 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3901 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3902 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3903 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3904 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3905 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3907 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3908 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3909 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3910 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3911 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3912 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3913 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3914 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3917 @node Misc Group Stuff
3918 @section Misc Group Stuff
3921 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3922 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3923 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3924 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3925 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3932 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3933 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3934 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3938 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3939 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3940 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3941 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3942 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3943 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3944 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3948 @findex gnus-group-mail
3949 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3950 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3951 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3952 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3956 @findex gnus-group-news
3957 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3958 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3959 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3961 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3962 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3963 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3964 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3965 for this to work though.
3969 Variables for the group buffer:
3973 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3974 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3975 is called after the group buffer has been
3978 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3979 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3980 is called after the group buffer is
3981 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3984 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3985 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3986 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3987 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3989 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3990 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3991 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3992 whether they are empty or not.
3994 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3995 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3996 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3997 non-ASCII group names.
4001 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4002 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4005 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4006 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4007 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4008 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4009 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4010 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4014 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4015 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4020 @node Scanning New Messages
4021 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4022 @cindex new messages
4023 @cindex scanning new news
4029 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4030 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4031 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4032 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4033 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4034 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4039 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4040 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4041 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4042 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4043 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4044 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4045 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4047 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4048 @cindex activating groups
4050 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4051 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4056 @findex gnus-group-restart
4057 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4058 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4059 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4063 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4064 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4066 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4067 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4071 @node Group Information
4072 @subsection Group Information
4073 @cindex group information
4074 @cindex information on groups
4081 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4082 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4085 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4086 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4087 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4088 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4089 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4090 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4091 for fetching the file.
4093 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4094 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4098 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4099 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4101 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4102 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Gnus will use
4103 @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of the charter.
4104 If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control messages for the
4105 group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4109 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4110 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4111 @cindex control message
4112 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4113 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}).
4115 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4116 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4117 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4120 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4121 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4122 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4126 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4128 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4129 @cindex describing groups
4130 @cindex group description
4131 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4132 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4133 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4137 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4138 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4139 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4146 @findex gnus-version
4147 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4151 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4152 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4155 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4158 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4159 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4163 @node Group Timestamp
4164 @subsection Group Timestamp
4166 @cindex group timestamps
4168 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4169 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4170 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4173 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4176 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4178 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4179 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4182 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4183 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4186 This will result in lines looking like:
4189 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4190 0: custom 19961002T012713
4193 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4194 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4198 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4199 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4202 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4203 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4207 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4208 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4209 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4210 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4212 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4218 @subsection File Commands
4219 @cindex file commands
4225 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4226 @vindex gnus-init-file
4227 @cindex reading init file
4228 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4229 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4233 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4234 @cindex saving .newsrc
4235 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4236 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4237 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4240 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4241 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4242 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4247 @node Sieve Commands
4248 @subsection Sieve Commands
4249 @cindex group sieve commands
4251 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4252 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4253 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4254 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4255 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4257 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4258 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4259 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4260 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4261 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4262 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4263 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4264 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4265 regenerate the Sieve script.
4267 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4268 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4269 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4270 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4271 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4272 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4273 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4274 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4275 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4276 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4279 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4280 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4285 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4291 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4292 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4293 @cindex generating sieve script
4294 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4295 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4299 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4300 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4301 @cindex updating sieve script
4302 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4303 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4304 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4309 @node Summary Buffer
4310 @chapter Summary Buffer
4311 @cindex summary buffer
4313 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4314 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4316 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4317 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4319 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4322 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4323 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4324 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4325 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4326 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4327 * Delayed Articles::
4328 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4329 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4330 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4331 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4332 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4333 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4334 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4335 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4336 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4337 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4338 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4339 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4340 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4341 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4342 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4343 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4344 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4345 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4346 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4347 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4348 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4349 or reselecting the current group.
4350 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4351 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4352 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4353 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4357 @node Summary Buffer Format
4358 @section Summary Buffer Format
4359 @cindex summary buffer format
4363 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4364 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4365 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4371 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4372 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4373 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4374 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4377 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4378 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4379 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4380 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4381 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4382 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4383 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4384 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4385 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4386 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4387 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4388 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4389 other function instead:
4392 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4393 'mail-extract-address-components)
4396 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4397 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4398 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4399 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4402 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4403 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4405 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4406 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4407 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4408 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4409 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4411 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4412 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4413 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4414 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4415 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4416 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4418 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4420 The following format specification characters and extended format
4421 specification(s) are understood:
4427 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4428 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4430 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4431 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4432 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4434 Full @code{From} header.
4436 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4438 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4441 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4442 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4443 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4444 may be more thorough.
4446 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4449 Number of lines in the article.
4451 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4452 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4454 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4455 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4457 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4459 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4462 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4463 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4465 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4466 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4468 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4469 for adopted articles.
4471 One space for each thread level.
4473 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4475 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4478 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4479 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4480 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4483 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4485 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4486 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4487 default level. If the difference between
4488 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4489 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4497 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4499 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4505 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4506 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4508 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4509 article has any children.
4515 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4516 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4518 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4519 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4520 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4521 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4522 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4523 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4526 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4527 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4528 There can only be one such area.
4530 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4531 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4532 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4533 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4534 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4535 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4537 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4538 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4540 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4543 @node To From Newsgroups
4544 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4548 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4549 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4550 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4551 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4552 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4556 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4557 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4558 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4562 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4563 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4566 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4567 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4570 @findex gnus-extra-header
4571 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4572 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4573 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4576 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4580 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4581 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4582 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4583 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4584 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4585 headers are used instead.
4589 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4590 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4591 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4592 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4593 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4594 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4596 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4597 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4598 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4599 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4601 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4605 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4607 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4608 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4609 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4610 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4614 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4617 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4618 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4621 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4622 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4623 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4629 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4630 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4633 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4634 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4636 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4637 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4638 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4639 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4641 Here are the elements you can play with:
4647 Unprefixed group name.
4649 Current article number.
4651 Current article score.
4655 Number of unread articles in this group.
4657 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4660 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4661 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4662 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4663 and no unselected ones.
4665 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4666 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4668 Subject of the current article.
4670 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4672 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4674 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4676 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4678 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4680 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4684 @node Summary Highlighting
4685 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4689 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4690 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4691 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4692 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4693 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4695 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4696 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4697 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4698 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4700 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4701 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4702 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4703 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4705 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4706 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4707 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4708 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4709 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4710 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4713 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4714 ((> score default) . bold))
4716 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4717 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4721 @node Summary Maneuvering
4722 @section Summary Maneuvering
4723 @cindex summary movement
4725 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4726 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4728 None of these commands select articles.
4733 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4734 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4735 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4736 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4737 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4741 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4742 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4743 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4744 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4745 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4748 @kindex G g (Summary)
4749 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4750 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4751 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4754 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4755 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4756 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4757 to the group buffer.
4759 Variables related to summary movement:
4763 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4764 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4765 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4766 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4767 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4768 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4769 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4770 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4771 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
4772 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4773 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4774 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4775 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4776 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4778 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4779 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4780 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4781 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4782 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4783 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4784 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4786 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4788 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4789 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4790 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4791 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4792 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4794 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4795 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4796 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4797 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4798 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4799 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4800 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4801 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4804 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4805 the given number of lines from the top.
4810 @node Choosing Articles
4811 @section Choosing Articles
4812 @cindex selecting articles
4815 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4816 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4820 @node Choosing Commands
4821 @subsection Choosing Commands
4823 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4824 and they all select and display an article.
4826 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4827 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4831 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4832 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4833 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4834 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4839 @kindex G n (Summary)
4840 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4841 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4842 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4847 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4848 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4849 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4854 @kindex G N (Summary)
4855 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4856 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4861 @kindex G P (Summary)
4862 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4863 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4866 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4867 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4868 Go to the next article with the same subject
4869 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4872 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4873 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4874 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4875 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4879 @kindex G f (Summary)
4881 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4882 Go to the first unread article
4883 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4887 @kindex G b (Summary)
4889 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4890 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4891 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4892 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4897 @kindex G l (Summary)
4898 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4899 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4902 @kindex G o (Summary)
4903 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4905 @cindex article history
4906 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4907 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4908 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4909 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4910 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4911 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4916 @kindex G j (Summary)
4917 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4918 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4919 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4924 @node Choosing Variables
4925 @subsection Choosing Variables
4927 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4930 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4931 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4932 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4933 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4934 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4935 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4937 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4938 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4939 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4940 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4942 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4943 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4944 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4945 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4946 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4947 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4948 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4949 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4950 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4951 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4952 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4953 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4954 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4955 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4960 @node Paging the Article
4961 @section Scrolling the Article
4962 @cindex article scrolling
4967 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4969 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4970 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4971 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4974 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4975 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4976 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4979 @kindex RET (Summary)
4980 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4981 Scroll the current article one line forward
4982 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4985 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4986 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4987 Scroll the current article one line backward
4988 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4992 @kindex A g (Summary)
4994 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4995 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4996 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4997 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4998 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4999 the way it came from the server.
5001 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5002 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5003 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5006 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5011 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5016 @kindex A < (Summary)
5017 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5018 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5019 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5024 @kindex A > (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5026 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5030 @kindex A s (Summary)
5032 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5033 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5034 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5038 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5039 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5044 @node Reply Followup and Post
5045 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5048 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5049 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5050 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5051 * Canceling and Superseding::
5055 @node Summary Mail Commands
5056 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5058 @cindex composing mail
5060 Commands for composing a mail message:
5066 @kindex S r (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5069 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5070 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5071 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5072 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5077 @kindex S R (Summary)
5078 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5079 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5080 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5081 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5082 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5085 @kindex S w (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5087 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5088 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5089 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5090 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5093 @kindex S W (Summary)
5094 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5095 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5096 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5097 the process/prefix convention.
5100 @kindex S v (Summary)
5101 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5102 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5103 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5104 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5105 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5106 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5109 @kindex S V (Summary)
5110 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5111 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5112 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5113 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5116 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5117 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5118 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5119 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5122 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5124 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5125 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5126 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5130 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5131 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5132 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5133 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5134 Forward the current article to some other person
5135 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5136 headers of the forwarded article.
5141 @kindex S m (Summary)
5142 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5143 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5144 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5145 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5146 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5151 @kindex S i (Summary)
5152 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5153 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5154 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5155 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5157 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5158 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5159 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5160 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5161 for this to work though.
5164 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5165 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5166 @cindex bouncing mail
5167 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5168 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5169 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5170 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5171 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5172 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5173 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5174 very well fail, though.
5177 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5178 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5179 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5180 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5181 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5182 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5183 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5184 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5185 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5186 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5188 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5189 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5190 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5191 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5192 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5194 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5195 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5198 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5200 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5201 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5202 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5205 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5207 @cindex crossposting
5208 @cindex excessive crossposting
5209 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5210 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5212 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5213 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5214 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5215 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5216 command understands the process/prefix convention
5217 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5221 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5222 Manual}, for more information.
5225 @node Summary Post Commands
5226 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5228 @cindex composing news
5230 Commands for posting a news article:
5236 @kindex S p (Summary)
5237 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5238 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5239 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5240 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5241 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5246 @kindex S f (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5248 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5249 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5253 @kindex S F (Summary)
5255 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5256 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5257 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5258 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5259 process/prefix convention.
5262 @kindex S n (Summary)
5263 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5264 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5265 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5268 @kindex S N (Summary)
5269 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5270 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5271 message through mail and include the original message
5272 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5273 the process/prefix convention.
5276 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5277 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5278 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5279 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5280 headers of the forwarded article.
5283 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5284 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5286 @cindex making digests
5287 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5288 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5289 process/prefix convention.
5292 @kindex S u (Summary)
5293 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5294 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5295 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5296 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5299 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5300 Manual}, for more information.
5303 @node Summary Message Commands
5304 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5308 @kindex S y (Summary)
5309 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5310 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5311 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5312 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5313 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5318 @node Canceling and Superseding
5319 @subsection Canceling Articles
5320 @cindex canceling articles
5321 @cindex superseding articles
5323 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5324 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5326 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5328 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5330 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5331 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5332 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5333 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5334 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5335 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5337 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5338 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5341 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5342 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5343 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5345 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5346 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5347 your original article.
5349 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5351 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5352 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5353 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5356 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5357 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5358 have posted almost the same article twice.
5360 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5361 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5362 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5363 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5364 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5365 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5366 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5367 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5368 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5369 canceled/superseded.
5371 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5373 @node Delayed Articles
5374 @section Delayed Articles
5375 @cindex delayed sending
5376 @cindex send delayed
5378 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5379 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5380 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5381 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5384 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5387 @findex gnus-delay-article
5388 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5389 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5390 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5391 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5395 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5396 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5397 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5398 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5401 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5402 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5403 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5406 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5407 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5408 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5409 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5410 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5411 that means a time tomorrow.
5414 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5415 couple of variables:
5418 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5419 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5420 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5421 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5423 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5424 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5425 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5426 formats described above.
5428 @item gnus-delay-group
5429 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5430 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5431 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5432 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5434 @item gnus-delay-header
5435 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5436 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5437 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5438 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5441 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5442 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5443 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5444 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5445 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5447 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5448 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5449 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5450 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5451 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5452 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5455 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5456 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5457 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5458 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5459 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5460 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5461 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5462 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5464 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5465 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5466 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5467 forget to set that up :-)
5471 @node Marking Articles
5472 @section Marking Articles
5473 @cindex article marking
5474 @cindex article ticking
5477 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5479 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5480 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5481 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5483 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5486 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5487 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5488 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5492 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5496 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5497 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5498 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5502 @node Unread Articles
5503 @subsection Unread Articles
5505 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5510 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5511 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5513 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5514 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5515 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5516 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5517 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5518 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5519 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5522 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5523 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5525 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5526 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5527 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5528 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5532 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5533 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5535 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5540 @subsection Read Articles
5541 @cindex expirable mark
5543 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5548 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5549 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5550 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5553 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5554 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5557 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5558 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5559 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5562 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5563 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5566 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5567 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5570 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5571 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5574 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5575 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5578 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5579 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5582 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5583 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5586 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5587 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5591 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5592 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5593 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5597 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5598 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5600 One more special mark, though:
5604 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5605 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5607 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5608 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5609 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5610 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5616 @subsection Other Marks
5617 @cindex process mark
5620 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5626 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5627 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5628 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5629 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5630 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5633 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5634 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5635 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5636 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5639 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5640 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5641 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5644 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5645 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5646 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5649 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5650 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5651 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5652 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5655 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5656 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5657 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5658 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5659 mark, in which case it simply never appears.
5662 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5663 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5664 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5667 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5668 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5669 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5670 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5671 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5674 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5675 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5676 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5677 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5678 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5679 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5683 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5684 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5685 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5687 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5688 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5689 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5693 @subsection Setting Marks
5694 @cindex setting marks
5696 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5701 @kindex M c (Summary)
5702 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5703 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5704 @cindex mark as unread
5705 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5706 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5712 @kindex M t (Summary)
5713 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5714 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5715 @xref{Article Caching}.
5720 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5721 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5722 Mark the current article as dormant
5723 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5727 @kindex M d (Summary)
5729 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5730 Mark the current article as read
5731 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5735 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5736 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5737 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5742 @kindex M k (Summary)
5743 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5744 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5745 and then select the next unread article
5746 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5750 @kindex M K (Summary)
5751 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5752 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5753 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5754 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5757 @kindex M C (Summary)
5758 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5759 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5760 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5763 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5764 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5765 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5766 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5769 @kindex M H (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5771 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5772 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5775 @kindex M h (Summary)
5776 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5777 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5778 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5781 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5782 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5783 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5784 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5787 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5788 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5789 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5790 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5794 @kindex M e (Summary)
5796 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5797 Mark the current article as expirable
5798 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5801 @kindex M b (Summary)
5802 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5803 Set a bookmark in the current article
5804 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5807 @kindex M B (Summary)
5808 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5809 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5810 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5813 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5814 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5815 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5816 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5819 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5820 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5821 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5822 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5825 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5826 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5827 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5828 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5829 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5832 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5833 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5834 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5835 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5836 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5837 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5838 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5839 The default is @code{t}.
5842 @node Generic Marking Commands
5843 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5845 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5846 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5847 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5848 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5849 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5852 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5853 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5856 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5857 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5858 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5859 to list in this manual.
5861 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5862 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5863 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5864 article, you could say something like:
5867 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5868 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5869 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5875 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5876 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5880 @node Setting Process Marks
5881 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5882 @cindex setting process marks
5889 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5890 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5891 Mark the current article with the process mark
5892 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5893 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5897 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5898 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5899 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5900 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5903 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5904 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5905 Remove the process mark from all articles
5906 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5909 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5910 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5911 Invert the list of process marked articles
5912 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5915 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5916 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5917 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5918 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5921 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5922 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5923 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5924 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5927 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5928 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5929 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5933 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5934 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5937 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5939 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5940 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5943 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5944 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5945 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5946 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5949 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5951 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5952 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5955 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5956 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5957 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5960 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5961 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5962 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5963 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5966 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5967 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5968 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5971 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5972 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5973 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5974 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5977 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5978 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5979 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5980 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5983 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5984 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5985 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5986 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5989 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5990 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5991 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5992 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5996 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5997 set process marks based on article body contents.
6004 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6005 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6006 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6009 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6010 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6011 additional articles.
6017 @kindex / / (Summary)
6018 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6019 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6020 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6024 @kindex / a (Summary)
6025 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6026 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6027 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6031 @kindex / x (Summary)
6032 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6033 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6034 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6035 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6040 @kindex / u (Summary)
6042 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6043 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6044 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6045 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6046 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6049 @kindex / m (Summary)
6050 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6051 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6052 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6055 @kindex / t (Summary)
6056 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6057 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6058 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6059 articles younger than that number of days.
6062 @kindex / n (Summary)
6063 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6064 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6065 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6066 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6069 @kindex / w (Summary)
6070 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6071 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6072 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6076 @kindex / . (Summary)
6077 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6078 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6079 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6082 @kindex / v (Summary)
6083 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6084 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6085 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6088 @kindex / p (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6090 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6091 group parameter predicate
6092 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6093 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6097 @kindex M S (Summary)
6098 @kindex / E (Summary)
6099 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6100 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6101 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6104 @kindex / D (Summary)
6105 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6106 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6107 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6110 @kindex / * (Summary)
6111 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6112 Include all cached articles in the limit
6113 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6116 @kindex / d (Summary)
6117 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6118 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6119 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6122 @kindex / M (Summary)
6123 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6124 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6127 @kindex / T (Summary)
6128 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6129 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6132 @kindex / c (Summary)
6133 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6134 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6135 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6138 @kindex / C (Summary)
6139 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6140 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6141 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6142 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6145 @kindex / N (Summary)
6146 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6147 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6148 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6151 @kindex / o (Summary)
6152 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6153 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6154 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6162 @cindex article threading
6164 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6165 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6166 hierarchical fashion.
6168 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6169 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6170 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6171 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6172 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6173 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6174 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6176 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6180 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6183 A tree-like article structure.
6186 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6189 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6190 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6191 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6192 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6193 called loose threads.
6195 @item thread gathering
6196 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6198 @item sparse threads
6199 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6200 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6206 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6207 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6211 @node Customizing Threading
6212 @subsection Customizing Threading
6213 @cindex customizing threading
6216 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6217 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6218 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6219 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6224 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6227 @cindex loose threads
6230 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6231 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6232 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6233 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6234 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6235 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6237 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6238 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6239 There are four possible values:
6243 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6244 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6245 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6246 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6247 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6252 @cindex adopting articles
6257 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6258 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6259 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6260 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6263 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6264 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6265 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6266 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6267 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6268 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6269 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6272 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6273 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6274 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6278 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6279 display them after one another.
6282 Don't gather loose threads.
6285 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6286 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6287 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6288 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6289 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6290 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6291 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6292 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6293 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6294 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6295 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6297 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6298 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6299 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6302 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6303 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6304 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6305 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6306 simplification is used.
6308 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6309 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6310 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6311 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6313 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6315 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6321 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6322 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6323 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6324 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6329 (mapconcat 'identity
6330 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6332 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6335 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6338 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6339 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6340 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6341 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6342 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6343 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6345 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6348 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6349 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6350 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6352 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6353 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6356 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6357 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6358 Remove excessive whitespace.
6360 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6361 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6362 Remove all whitespace.
6365 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6368 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6369 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6370 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6371 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6372 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6373 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6374 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6375 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6377 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6378 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6379 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6380 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6381 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6382 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6383 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6384 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6385 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6389 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6390 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6391 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6392 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6394 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6395 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6396 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6399 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6403 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6404 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6410 @node Filling In Threads
6411 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6414 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6415 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6416 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6417 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6418 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6419 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6420 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6421 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6422 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6423 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6424 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6425 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6428 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6429 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6430 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6432 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6433 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6434 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6435 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6436 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6437 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6438 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6439 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6440 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6441 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6442 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6443 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6444 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6445 @code{nil} by default.
6447 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6448 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6449 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6450 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6451 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6452 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6453 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6455 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6456 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6457 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6462 @node More Threading
6463 @subsubsection More Threading
6466 @item gnus-show-threads
6467 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6468 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6469 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6470 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6471 slower and more awkward.
6473 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6474 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6475 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6478 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6479 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6480 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6485 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6486 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6487 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6490 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6491 unread, but you get my drift.)
6494 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6495 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6496 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6497 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6498 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6499 threads are expunged.
6501 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6502 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6503 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6506 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6507 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6508 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6509 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6510 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6511 result in a new thread.
6513 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6514 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6515 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6518 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6519 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6520 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6521 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6522 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6523 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6524 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6525 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6526 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6527 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6528 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6533 @node Low-Level Threading
6534 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6538 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6539 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6540 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6541 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6542 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6543 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6545 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6546 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6547 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6548 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6549 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6550 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6551 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6552 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6553 meaningful. Here's one example:
6556 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6558 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6559 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6561 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6563 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6570 @node Thread Commands
6571 @subsection Thread Commands
6572 @cindex thread commands
6578 @kindex T k (Summary)
6579 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6580 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6581 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6582 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6583 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6588 @kindex T l (Summary)
6589 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6590 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6591 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6592 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6595 @kindex T i (Summary)
6596 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6597 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6598 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6601 @kindex T # (Summary)
6602 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6603 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6604 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6607 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6608 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6609 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6610 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6613 @kindex T T (Summary)
6614 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6615 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6618 @kindex T s (Summary)
6619 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6620 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6621 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6624 @kindex T h (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6626 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6629 @kindex T S (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6631 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6634 @kindex T H (Summary)
6635 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6636 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6639 @kindex T t (Summary)
6640 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6641 Re-thread the current article's thread
6642 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6643 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6646 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6647 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6648 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6649 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6653 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6654 understand the numeric prefix.
6659 @kindex T n (Summary)
6661 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6663 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6664 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6665 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6668 @kindex T p (Summary)
6670 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6672 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6673 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6674 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6677 @kindex T d (Summary)
6678 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6679 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6682 @kindex T u (Summary)
6683 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6684 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6687 @kindex T o (Summary)
6688 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6689 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6692 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6693 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6694 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6695 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6696 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6697 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6698 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6699 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6700 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6701 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6702 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6703 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6707 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6708 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6710 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6711 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6712 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6713 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6714 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6715 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6716 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6717 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6718 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6719 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6720 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6721 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6722 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6724 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6725 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6726 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6727 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6728 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6729 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6730 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6731 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6733 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6734 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6735 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6737 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6738 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6739 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6740 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6741 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6742 ascending article order.
6744 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6745 by number, you could do something like:
6748 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6749 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6750 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6751 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6754 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6755 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6756 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6757 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6758 which the articles arrived.
6760 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6764 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6766 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6767 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6770 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6771 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6772 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6773 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6776 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6777 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6778 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6779 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6780 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6781 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6782 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6783 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6784 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6785 variable. It is very similar to the
6786 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6787 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6788 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6789 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6790 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6791 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6792 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6794 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6798 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6799 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6800 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6805 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6806 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6807 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6808 @cindex article pre-fetch
6811 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6812 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6813 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6814 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6815 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6817 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6818 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6820 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6821 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6822 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6823 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6824 connection is blocked.
6826 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6827 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6828 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6829 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6831 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6832 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6833 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6834 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6837 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6840 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6841 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6842 happen automatically.
6844 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6845 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6846 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6847 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6848 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6849 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6850 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6852 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6853 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6854 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6855 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6856 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6857 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6858 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6859 data structure as the only parameter.
6861 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6864 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6865 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6866 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6867 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6870 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6873 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6874 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6875 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6877 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6878 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6879 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6880 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6884 Remove articles when they are read.
6887 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6890 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6892 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6893 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6894 @c from the next group.
6897 @node Article Caching
6898 @section Article Caching
6899 @cindex article caching
6902 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6903 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6904 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6905 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6906 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6908 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6910 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6911 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6912 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6913 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6914 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6915 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6916 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6917 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6919 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6920 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6921 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6922 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6923 as dormant, and don't worry.
6925 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6927 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6928 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6929 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6930 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6931 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6932 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6933 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6934 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6935 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6936 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6938 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6939 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6940 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6941 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6942 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6943 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6944 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6945 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6946 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6947 not then be downloaded by this command.
6949 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6950 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6951 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6952 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6953 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6954 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6956 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6957 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6958 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6959 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6960 variables, the group is not cached.
6962 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6963 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6964 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6965 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6966 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6967 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
6968 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6969 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6970 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6973 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6974 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
6975 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
6976 where, isn't that cool?
6978 @node Persistent Articles
6979 @section Persistent Articles
6980 @cindex persistent articles
6982 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6983 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6984 useful in my opinion.
6986 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6987 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6988 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6989 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6990 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6991 the expiry going on at the news server.
6993 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6994 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6995 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7001 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7002 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7005 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7006 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7007 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7008 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7012 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7014 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7015 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7016 interested in persistent articles:
7019 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7023 @node Article Backlog
7024 @section Article Backlog
7026 @cindex article backlog
7028 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7029 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7030 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7031 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7032 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7033 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7034 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7035 increase memory usage some.
7037 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7038 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7039 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7040 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7041 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7042 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7043 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7045 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7048 @node Saving Articles
7049 @section Saving Articles
7050 @cindex saving articles
7052 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7053 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7054 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7055 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7056 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7058 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7059 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7060 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7062 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7063 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7064 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7066 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7067 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7068 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7069 deleted before saving.
7075 @kindex O o (Summary)
7077 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7078 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7079 Save the current article using the default article saver
7080 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7083 @kindex O m (Summary)
7084 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7085 Save the current article in mail format
7086 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7089 @kindex O r (Summary)
7090 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7091 Save the current article in rmail format
7092 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7095 @kindex O f (Summary)
7096 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7097 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7098 Save the current article in plain file format
7099 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7102 @kindex O F (Summary)
7103 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7104 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7105 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7108 @kindex O b (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7110 Save the current article body in plain file format
7111 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7114 @kindex O h (Summary)
7115 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7116 Save the current article in mh folder format
7117 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7120 @kindex O v (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7122 Save the current article in a VM folder
7123 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7127 @kindex O p (Summary)
7129 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7130 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7131 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7134 @kindex O P (Summary)
7135 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7136 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7137 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7138 external program Muttprint (see
7139 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7140 options to use is controlled by the variable
7141 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7145 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7146 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7147 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7148 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7149 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7150 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7151 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7152 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7153 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7154 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7155 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7156 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7160 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7161 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7162 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7163 functions below, or you can create your own.
7167 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7168 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7169 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7170 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7171 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7172 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7173 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7175 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7176 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7177 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7178 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7179 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7180 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7182 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7183 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7184 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7185 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7186 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7187 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7188 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7190 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7191 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7192 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7193 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7194 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7195 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7197 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7198 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7199 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7200 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7201 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7203 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7204 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7205 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7206 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7207 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7210 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7211 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7212 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7213 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7214 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7216 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7217 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7218 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7219 reader to use this setting.
7222 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7223 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7224 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7225 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7228 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7229 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7230 available functions that generate names:
7234 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7235 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7236 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7238 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7239 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7240 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7242 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7243 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7244 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7246 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7247 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7248 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7250 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7251 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7252 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7255 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7256 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7257 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7258 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7259 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7263 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7264 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7265 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7266 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7269 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7270 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7271 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7272 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7273 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7274 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7275 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7276 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7277 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7279 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7280 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7281 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7282 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7284 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7285 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7286 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7289 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7290 lots of mail groups called things like
7291 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7292 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7293 following will do just that:
7296 (defun my-save-name (group)
7297 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7298 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7300 (setq gnus-split-methods
7301 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7306 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7307 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7308 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7309 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7310 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7311 all the files in the top level directory
7312 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7313 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7314 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7315 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7317 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7318 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7319 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7320 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7321 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7324 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7328 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7329 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7330 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7333 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7334 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7335 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7336 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7339 @node Decoding Articles
7340 @section Decoding Articles
7341 @cindex decoding articles
7343 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7344 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7347 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7348 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7349 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7350 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7351 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7352 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7356 @cindex article series
7357 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7358 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7359 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7360 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7361 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7363 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7364 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7365 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7367 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7368 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7369 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7371 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7372 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7373 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7376 @node Uuencoded Articles
7377 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7379 @cindex uuencoded articles
7384 @kindex X u (Summary)
7385 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7386 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7387 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7390 @kindex X U (Summary)
7391 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7392 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7393 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7396 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7397 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7398 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7401 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7402 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7403 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7404 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7408 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7409 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7410 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7411 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7412 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7414 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7415 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7416 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7417 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7420 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7421 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7422 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7423 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7424 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7425 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7429 @node Shell Archives
7430 @subsection Shell Archives
7432 @cindex shell archives
7433 @cindex shared articles
7435 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7436 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7437 some commands to deal with these:
7442 @kindex X s (Summary)
7443 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7444 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7447 @kindex X S (Summary)
7448 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7449 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7452 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7453 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7454 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7457 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7458 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7459 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7460 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7464 @node PostScript Files
7465 @subsection PostScript Files
7471 @kindex X p (Summary)
7472 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7473 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7476 @kindex X P (Summary)
7477 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7478 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7479 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7482 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7483 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7484 View the current PostScript series
7485 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7488 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7489 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7490 View and save the current PostScript series
7491 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7496 @subsection Other Files
7500 @kindex X o (Summary)
7501 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7502 Save the current series
7503 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7506 @kindex X b (Summary)
7507 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7508 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7509 doesn't really work yet.
7513 @node Decoding Variables
7514 @subsection Decoding Variables
7516 Adjective, not verb.
7519 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7520 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7521 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7525 @node Rule Variables
7526 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7527 @cindex rule variables
7529 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7530 variables are of the form
7533 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7540 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7541 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7543 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7544 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7547 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7548 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7551 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7552 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7553 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7554 user and default view rules.
7556 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7557 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7558 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7563 @node Other Decode Variables
7564 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7567 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7569 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7570 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7571 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7572 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7573 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7577 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7578 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7581 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7582 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7583 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7586 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7587 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7588 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7589 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7590 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7593 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7594 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7595 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7597 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7598 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7599 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7600 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7601 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7604 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7605 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7606 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7608 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7609 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7610 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7611 looking for files to display.
7613 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7614 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7615 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7618 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7619 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7620 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7623 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7624 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7625 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7628 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7629 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7630 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7633 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7634 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7635 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7636 decoded articles as unread.
7638 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7639 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7640 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7641 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7643 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7644 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7645 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7647 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7648 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7650 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7651 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7652 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7653 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7655 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7656 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7657 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7658 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7659 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7660 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7661 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7662 simply dropped them.
7667 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7668 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7672 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7673 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7674 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7675 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7676 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7677 for you when you post the article.
7679 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7680 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7681 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7682 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7684 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7685 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7686 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7687 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7688 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7689 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7690 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7692 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7693 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7694 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7695 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7696 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7697 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7698 Default is @code{t}.
7704 @subsection Viewing Files
7705 @cindex viewing files
7706 @cindex pseudo-articles
7708 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7709 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7710 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7711 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7712 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7713 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7714 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7716 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7717 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7718 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7719 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7721 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7722 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7723 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7725 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7726 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7727 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7728 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7729 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7731 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7732 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7733 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7734 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7735 a list of parameters to that command.
7737 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7738 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7739 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7741 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7742 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7743 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7746 @node Article Treatment
7747 @section Article Treatment
7749 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7750 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7751 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7752 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7753 these articles easier.
7756 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7757 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7758 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7759 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7760 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7761 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7762 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7763 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7764 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7765 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7769 @node Article Highlighting
7770 @subsection Article Highlighting
7771 @cindex highlighting
7773 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7774 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7779 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7780 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7781 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7782 Do much highlighting of the current article
7783 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7784 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7787 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7788 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7789 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7790 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7791 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7792 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7793 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7794 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7795 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7796 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7797 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7798 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7801 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7802 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7803 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7805 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7808 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7810 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7811 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7812 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7814 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7815 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7816 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7818 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7819 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7820 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7821 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7822 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7823 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7825 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7826 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7827 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7829 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7830 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7831 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7833 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7834 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7835 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7836 that it's a citation.
7838 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7839 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7840 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7842 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7843 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7844 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7846 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7847 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7848 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7849 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7855 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7856 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7857 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7858 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7859 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7860 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7861 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7862 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7867 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7870 @node Article Fontisizing
7871 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7873 @cindex article emphasis
7875 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7876 @kindex W e (Summary)
7877 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7878 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7879 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7880 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7882 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7883 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7884 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7885 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7886 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7887 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7888 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7889 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7893 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7894 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7895 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7904 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7905 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7906 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7907 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7908 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7909 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7910 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7911 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7912 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7913 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7914 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7915 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7916 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7918 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7919 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7920 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7924 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7927 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7929 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7930 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7931 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7932 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7934 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7937 @node Article Hiding
7938 @subsection Article Hiding
7939 @cindex article hiding
7941 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7942 too much cruft in most articles.
7947 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7948 @findex gnus-article-hide
7949 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7950 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7951 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7954 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7955 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7956 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7960 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7961 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7962 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7963 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7966 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7967 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7968 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7972 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7973 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7974 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7975 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7976 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7977 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7978 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7979 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7983 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7984 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7985 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7986 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7991 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7992 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7993 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7994 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7995 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7996 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7997 articles that have signatures in them do:
7999 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8001 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8003 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8004 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8006 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8009 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8014 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8015 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8016 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8017 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8020 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8021 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8024 @cindex stripping advertisements
8025 @cindex advertisements
8026 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8027 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8028 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8029 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8030 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8031 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8032 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8033 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8034 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8035 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8039 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8040 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8041 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8042 customizing the hiding:
8046 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8047 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8048 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8049 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8050 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8051 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8052 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8057 Starting point of the hidden text.
8059 Ending point of the hidden text.
8061 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8063 Number of lines of hidden text.
8066 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8067 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8068 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8069 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8070 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8075 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8076 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8078 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8079 following two variables:
8082 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8083 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8084 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8085 50), hide the cited text.
8087 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8088 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8089 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8094 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8095 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8096 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8097 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8098 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8099 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8103 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8104 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8105 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8107 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8108 citation customization.
8110 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8114 @node Article Washing
8115 @subsection Article Washing
8117 @cindex article washing
8119 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8120 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8122 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8123 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8126 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8127 articles by default.
8132 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8133 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8137 @kindex W l (Summary)
8138 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8139 Remove page breaks from the current article
8140 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8144 @kindex W r (Summary)
8145 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8146 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8147 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8148 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8149 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8150 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8152 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8153 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8154 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8155 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8159 @kindex W t (Summary)
8161 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8162 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8163 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8166 @kindex W v (Summary)
8167 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8168 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8169 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8172 @kindex W m (Summary)
8173 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8174 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8175 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8178 @kindex W o (Summary)
8179 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8180 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8183 @kindex W d (Summary)
8184 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8185 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8187 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8189 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8190 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8191 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8192 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8195 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8196 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8197 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8198 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8201 @kindex W k (Summary)
8202 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8203 @cindex Outlook Express
8204 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8205 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8208 @kindex W w (Summary)
8209 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8210 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8212 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8216 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8217 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8218 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8221 @kindex W C (Summary)
8222 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8223 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8224 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8227 @kindex W c (Summary)
8228 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8229 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8230 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8231 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8232 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8235 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8236 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8237 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8238 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8239 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8240 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8241 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8243 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8246 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8247 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8248 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8249 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8250 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8253 @kindex W u (Summary)
8254 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8255 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8256 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8257 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8258 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8261 @kindex W h (Summary)
8262 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8263 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8264 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8265 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8267 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8269 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8270 The default is to use the function specified by
8271 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8272 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8273 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8281 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8285 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8288 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8291 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8296 @kindex W b (Summary)
8297 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8298 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8299 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8302 @kindex W B (Summary)
8303 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8304 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8305 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8308 @kindex W p (Summary)
8309 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8310 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8311 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8312 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8313 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8314 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8315 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8318 @kindex W s (Summary)
8319 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8320 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8321 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8324 @kindex W a (Summary)
8325 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8326 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8327 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8330 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8331 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8332 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8333 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8336 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8337 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8338 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8339 lines with a single empty line.
8340 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8343 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8344 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8345 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8346 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8349 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8350 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8351 Do all the three commands above
8352 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8355 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8356 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8357 Remove all blank lines
8358 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8361 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8362 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8363 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8364 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8367 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8368 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8369 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8370 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8374 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8377 @node Article Header
8378 @subsection Article Header
8380 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8385 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8386 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8387 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8390 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8391 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8392 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8393 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8396 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8397 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8398 Fold all the message headers
8399 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8403 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8404 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8405 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8410 @node Article Buttons
8411 @subsection Article Buttons
8414 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8415 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8416 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8417 button on these references.
8419 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8420 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8421 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8426 @item gnus-button-alist
8427 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8428 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8431 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8437 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8438 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8439 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8440 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8443 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8444 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8445 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8448 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8449 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8450 avoid false matches.
8453 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8456 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8457 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8461 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8464 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8467 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8468 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8469 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8470 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8471 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8474 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8477 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8479 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8480 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8481 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8482 default values of the variables above.
8484 @item gnus-article-button-face
8485 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8486 Face used on buttons.
8488 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8489 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8490 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8494 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8498 @subsection Article Date
8500 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8501 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8502 when the article was sent.
8507 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8508 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8509 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8510 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8513 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8514 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8516 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8517 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8520 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8521 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8522 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8525 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8527 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8528 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8531 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8532 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8533 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8534 @findex format-time-string
8535 Display the date using a user-defined format
8536 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8537 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8538 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8539 for a list of possible format specs.
8542 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8543 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8544 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8545 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8546 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8547 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8550 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8553 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8554 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8557 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8558 into wonderful absurdities.
8560 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8563 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8566 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8567 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8571 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8573 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8574 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8575 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8576 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8577 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8581 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8582 preferred format automatically.
8585 @node Article Display
8586 @subsection Article Display
8591 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8592 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8594 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8595 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8597 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8598 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8600 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8601 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8603 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8608 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8609 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8610 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8611 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8614 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8615 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8616 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8619 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8620 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8621 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8624 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8625 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8626 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8627 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8630 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8631 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8632 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8633 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8636 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8637 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8638 Remove all images from the article buffer
8639 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8645 @node Article Signature
8646 @subsection Article Signature
8648 @cindex article signature
8650 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8651 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8652 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8653 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8654 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8655 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8656 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8657 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8658 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8661 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8662 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8663 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8664 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8665 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8666 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8667 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8668 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8671 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8674 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8675 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8676 signature when displaying articles.
8680 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8683 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8686 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8687 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8689 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8690 in question is not a signature.
8693 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8694 listed above. Here's an example:
8697 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8698 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8701 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8702 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8703 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8704 signature after all.
8707 @node Article Miscellania
8708 @subsection Article Miscellania
8712 @kindex A t (Summary)
8713 @findex gnus-article-babel
8714 Translate the article from one language to another
8715 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8721 @section MIME Commands
8722 @cindex MIME decoding
8724 @cindex viewing attachments
8726 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8727 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8733 @kindex K v (Summary)
8734 View the @sc{mime} part.
8737 @kindex K o (Summary)
8738 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8741 @kindex K c (Summary)
8742 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8745 @kindex K e (Summary)
8746 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8749 @kindex K i (Summary)
8750 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8753 @kindex K | (Summary)
8754 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8757 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8762 @kindex K b (Summary)
8763 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8764 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8768 @kindex K m (Summary)
8769 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8770 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8771 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8772 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8773 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8776 @kindex X m (Summary)
8777 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8778 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8779 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8780 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8783 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8784 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8785 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8786 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8789 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8790 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8791 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8792 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8795 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8796 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8797 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8798 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8800 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8801 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8802 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8803 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8804 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8805 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8808 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8809 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8810 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8811 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8818 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8819 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8820 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8821 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8824 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8827 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8831 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8832 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8833 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8834 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8835 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8836 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8839 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8840 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8841 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8842 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8843 displayed. This variable overrides
8844 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8846 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8847 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8848 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8850 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8851 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8852 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8853 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8854 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8855 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8856 save all jpegs into some directory).
8858 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8861 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8862 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8864 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8865 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8866 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8867 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8868 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8871 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8872 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8873 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8875 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8876 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8877 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8878 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8880 Ready-made functions include@*
8881 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8882 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8883 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8884 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8885 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8886 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8887 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8888 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8889 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8890 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8891 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8892 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8894 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8895 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8897 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8898 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8899 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8902 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8903 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8904 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8905 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8909 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8918 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8919 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8920 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8921 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8922 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8923 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8924 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8926 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8927 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8928 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8929 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8931 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8932 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8933 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8934 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8935 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8936 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8937 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8938 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8940 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8941 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8942 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8943 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8944 quoted-printable header encoding.
8946 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8947 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8948 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8952 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8955 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8956 means encode all charsets),
8958 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8959 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8960 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8967 @cindex coding system aliases
8968 @cindex preferred charset
8970 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8972 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8973 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8976 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8977 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8980 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8981 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8983 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8986 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8989 This will almost do the right thing.
8991 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8995 (codepage-setup 1251)
8996 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9000 @node Article Commands
9001 @section Article Commands
9008 @kindex A P (Summary)
9009 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9010 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9011 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9012 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9013 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9014 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9019 @node Summary Sorting
9020 @section Summary Sorting
9021 @cindex summary sorting
9023 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9024 can't really see why you'd want that.
9029 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9030 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9031 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9034 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9035 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9036 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9039 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9040 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9041 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9044 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9045 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9046 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9049 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9050 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9051 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9054 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9055 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9056 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9059 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9060 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9061 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9064 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9065 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9066 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9069 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9070 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9071 Sort using the default sorting method
9072 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9075 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9076 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9077 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9078 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9079 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9083 @node Finding the Parent
9084 @section Finding the Parent
9085 @cindex parent articles
9086 @cindex referring articles
9091 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9092 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9093 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9094 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9095 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9096 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9097 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9098 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9099 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9101 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9102 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9103 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9104 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9105 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9109 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9110 @kindex A R (Summary)
9111 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9112 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9115 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9116 @kindex A T (Summary)
9117 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9118 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9119 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9120 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9121 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9122 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9123 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9125 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9126 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9127 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9128 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9129 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9130 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9133 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9134 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9136 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9137 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9138 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9139 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9140 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9141 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9142 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9145 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9146 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9147 by giving this command a prefix.
9149 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9150 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9151 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9152 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9153 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9154 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9157 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9158 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9159 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9162 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9163 then ask Google if that fails:
9166 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9168 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9171 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9172 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9173 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9174 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9175 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9176 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9177 support this at all.
9180 @node Alternative Approaches
9181 @section Alternative Approaches
9183 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9184 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9187 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9188 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9193 @subsection Pick and Read
9194 @cindex pick and read
9196 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9197 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9198 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9199 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9201 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9202 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9203 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9204 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9205 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9206 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9208 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9213 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9214 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9215 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9216 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9217 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9218 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9219 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9220 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9223 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9224 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9225 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9226 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9230 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9231 Unpick the thread or article
9232 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9233 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9234 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9235 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9236 the thread or article at that line.
9240 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9241 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9242 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9243 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9244 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9245 will still be visible when you are reading.
9249 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9250 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9251 which is mapped to the same function
9252 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9254 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9257 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9260 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9261 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9263 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9264 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9265 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9267 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9268 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9269 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9270 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9271 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9272 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9273 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9277 @subsection Binary Groups
9278 @cindex binary groups
9280 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9281 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9282 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9283 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9284 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9285 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9286 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9289 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9290 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9291 command, when you have turned on this mode
9292 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9294 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9295 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9299 @section Tree Display
9302 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9303 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9304 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9305 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9308 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9311 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9312 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9313 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9315 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9316 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9317 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9318 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9319 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9321 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9322 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9323 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9324 default is @code{modeline}.
9326 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9327 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9328 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9329 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9330 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9331 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9332 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9338 The name of the poster.
9340 The @code{From} header.
9342 The number of the article.
9344 The opening bracket.
9346 The closing bracket.
9351 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9353 Variables related to the display are:
9356 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9357 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9358 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9359 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9360 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9361 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9363 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9364 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9365 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9366 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9370 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9371 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9372 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9373 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9374 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9375 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9376 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9377 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9378 other windows displayed next to it.
9380 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9384 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9385 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9388 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9389 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9390 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9391 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9392 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9393 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9394 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9398 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9401 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9411 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9415 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9416 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9418 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9420 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9425 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9426 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9427 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9430 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9431 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9432 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9433 (gnus-add-configuration
9437 (summary 0.75 point)
9442 @xref{Window Layout}.
9445 @node Mail Group Commands
9446 @section Mail Group Commands
9447 @cindex mail group commands
9449 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9450 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9452 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9453 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9458 @kindex B e (Summary)
9459 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9460 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9461 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9462 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9463 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9466 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9467 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9468 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9469 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9470 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9471 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9474 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9475 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9476 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9477 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9478 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9479 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9482 @kindex B m (Summary)
9484 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9485 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9486 Move the article from one mail group to another
9487 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9488 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9491 @kindex B c (Summary)
9493 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9494 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9495 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9496 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9497 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9500 @kindex B B (Summary)
9501 @cindex crosspost mail
9502 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9503 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9504 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9505 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9506 be properly updated.
9509 @kindex B i (Summary)
9510 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9511 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9512 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9513 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9516 @kindex B I (Summary)
9517 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9518 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9519 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9520 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9523 @kindex B r (Summary)
9524 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9525 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9526 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9527 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9528 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9529 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9530 (which is the default).
9534 @kindex B w (Summary)
9536 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9537 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9538 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9539 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9540 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9541 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9542 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9545 @kindex B q (Summary)
9546 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9547 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9548 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9549 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9552 @kindex B t (Summary)
9553 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9554 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9555 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9558 @kindex B p (Summary)
9559 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9560 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9561 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9562 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9563 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9564 article from your news server (or rather, from
9565 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9566 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9567 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9568 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9569 just not have arrived yet.
9572 @kindex K E (Summary)
9573 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9574 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9575 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9576 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9577 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9581 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9582 @cindex moving articles
9583 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9584 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9585 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9586 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9587 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9588 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9589 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9592 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9593 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9594 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9595 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9599 @node Various Summary Stuff
9600 @section Various Summary Stuff
9603 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9604 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9605 * Summary Generation Commands::
9606 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9610 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9611 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9612 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9614 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9615 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9616 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9617 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9618 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9619 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9622 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9623 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9624 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9625 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9626 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9628 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9629 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9630 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9633 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9634 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9635 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9636 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9637 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9638 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9639 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9640 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9641 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9642 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9644 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9645 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9646 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9647 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9648 list of articles to be selected.
9650 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9651 the list in one particular group:
9654 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9655 (if (string= group "some.group")
9656 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9660 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9661 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9662 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9663 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9664 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9665 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9666 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9667 buffers. For example:
9670 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9671 '(message-use-followup-to
9672 (gnus-visible-headers .
9673 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9679 @node Summary Group Information
9680 @subsection Summary Group Information
9685 @kindex H f (Summary)
9686 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9687 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9688 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9689 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9690 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9691 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9692 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9693 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9694 be used for fetching the file.
9697 @kindex H d (Summary)
9698 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9699 Give a brief description of the current group
9700 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9701 rereading the description from the server.
9704 @kindex H h (Summary)
9705 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9706 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9707 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9710 @kindex H i (Summary)
9711 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9712 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9716 @node Searching for Articles
9717 @subsection Searching for Articles
9722 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9723 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9724 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9725 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9728 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9729 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9730 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9731 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9735 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9736 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9737 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9738 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9739 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9740 search backward instead.
9742 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9743 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9746 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9747 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9748 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9749 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9752 @node Summary Generation Commands
9753 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9758 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9759 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9760 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9763 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9764 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9765 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9766 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9771 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9772 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9778 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9779 @kindex A D (Summary)
9780 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9781 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9782 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9783 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9784 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9785 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9786 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9787 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9791 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9792 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9793 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9794 several documents into one biiig group
9795 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9796 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9797 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9798 command understands the process/prefix convention
9799 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9802 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9803 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9804 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9805 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9806 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9807 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9811 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9812 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9813 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9816 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9817 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9818 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9819 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9822 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9823 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9824 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9825 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9830 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9831 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9832 @cindex summary exit
9833 @cindex exiting groups
9835 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9836 group and return you to the group buffer.
9842 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9844 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9845 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9846 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9847 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9848 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9849 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9850 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9851 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9852 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9853 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9854 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9858 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9860 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9861 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9862 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9866 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9868 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9869 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9870 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9871 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9874 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9875 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9876 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9877 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9880 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9881 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9882 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9883 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9886 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9887 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9888 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9889 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9890 all articles, both read and unread.
9894 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9895 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9896 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9897 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9898 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9899 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9900 articles, both read and unread.
9903 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9904 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9905 Exit the group and go to the next group
9906 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9909 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9910 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9911 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9912 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9915 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9916 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9917 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9918 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9919 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9920 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9923 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9924 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9925 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9926 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9928 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9929 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9930 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9931 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9932 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9933 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9934 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9935 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9936 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9937 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9938 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9939 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9941 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9943 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9944 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9945 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9946 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9947 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9948 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9949 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9950 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9951 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9954 @node Crosspost Handling
9955 @section Crosspost Handling
9959 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9960 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9961 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9962 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9963 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9964 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9967 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9968 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9969 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9970 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9971 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9973 @cindex cross-posting
9976 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9977 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9978 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9979 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9980 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9981 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9982 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9983 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9984 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9985 the cross reference mechanism.
9987 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9988 @cindex overview.fmt
9989 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9990 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9991 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9992 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9993 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9994 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9997 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9998 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9999 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10004 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10007 @node Duplicate Suppression
10008 @section Duplicate Suppression
10010 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10011 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10012 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10013 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10018 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10019 is evil and not very common.
10022 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10023 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10026 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10027 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10030 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10033 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10034 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10036 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10037 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10038 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10039 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10040 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10041 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10042 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10045 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10046 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10047 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10048 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10049 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10050 saw the article in.
10053 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10054 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10055 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10057 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10058 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10059 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10060 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10061 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10062 session are suppressed.
10064 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10065 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10066 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10067 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10069 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10070 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10071 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10072 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10075 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10076 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10077 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10078 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10079 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10080 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10081 to you to figure out, I think.
10086 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10087 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10088 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10092 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10093 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10096 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10097 or newer is recommended.
10101 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10102 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10105 @item mm-verify-option
10106 @vindex mm-verify-option
10107 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10108 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10109 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10111 @item mm-decrypt-option
10112 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10113 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10114 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10115 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10120 @section Mailing List
10122 @kindex A M (summary)
10123 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10124 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10125 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10126 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10127 summary buffer, or say:
10130 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10133 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10138 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10139 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10140 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10143 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10144 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10145 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10148 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10149 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10150 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10154 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10155 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10156 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10159 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10160 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10161 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10164 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10165 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10166 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10170 @node Article Buffer
10171 @chapter Article Buffer
10172 @cindex article buffer
10174 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10175 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10176 tell gnus otherwise.
10179 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10180 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10181 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10182 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10183 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10187 @node Hiding Headers
10188 @section Hiding Headers
10189 @cindex hiding headers
10190 @cindex deleting headers
10192 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10193 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10195 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10196 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10197 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10198 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10199 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10200 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10201 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10202 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10203 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10205 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10209 @item gnus-visible-headers
10210 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10211 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10212 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10213 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10215 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10216 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10219 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10222 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10225 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10226 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10227 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10228 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10229 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10230 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10232 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10233 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10236 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10239 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10242 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10243 variable will have no effect.
10247 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10248 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10249 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10250 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10251 the headers are to be displayed.
10253 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10254 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10257 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10260 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10261 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10263 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10264 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10265 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10266 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10267 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10268 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10269 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10272 These conditions are:
10275 Remove all empty headers.
10277 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10278 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10280 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10281 @code{From} header.
10283 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10286 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10287 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10289 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10292 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10294 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10297 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10300 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10301 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10304 This is also the default value for this variable.
10308 @section Using MIME
10311 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10312 while people stand around yawning.
10314 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10315 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10317 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10318 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10319 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10321 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10322 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10323 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10324 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10325 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10326 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10327 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10328 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10329 not existed yet, sorry).
10331 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10332 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10333 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10334 These can't be avoided.
10336 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10337 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10338 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10339 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10340 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10341 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10342 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10343 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10344 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10347 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10349 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10350 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10351 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10352 buffer when there are nobody else.
10354 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10357 @node Customizing Articles
10358 @section Customizing Articles
10359 @cindex article customization
10361 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10362 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10363 called automatically when you select the articles.
10365 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10366 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10367 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10368 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10370 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10371 for sensible values.
10375 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10378 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10381 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10384 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10387 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10391 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10392 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10393 regexps in the list.
10396 A list where the first element is not a string:
10398 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10399 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10400 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10404 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10408 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10413 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10414 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10415 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10416 considered to contain just a single part.
10418 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10419 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10420 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10421 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10422 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10423 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10424 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10426 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10427 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10428 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10429 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10432 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10433 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10435 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10437 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10438 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10439 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10440 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10441 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10442 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10443 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10444 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10445 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10446 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10447 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10449 @xref{Article Washing}.
10451 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10452 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10453 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10454 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10455 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10456 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10457 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10459 @xref{Article Date}.
10461 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10462 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10463 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10467 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10469 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10471 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10472 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10473 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10477 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10481 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10482 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10483 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10484 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10485 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10486 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10487 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10488 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10490 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10492 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10493 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10494 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10496 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10498 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10499 @item gnus-treat-translate
10500 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10502 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10503 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10504 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10505 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10507 @xref{Article Header}.
10512 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10513 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10514 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10515 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10516 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10520 @node Article Keymap
10521 @section Article Keymap
10523 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10524 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10525 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10526 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10529 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10534 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10535 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10536 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10539 @kindex DEL (Article)
10540 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10541 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10544 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10545 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10546 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10547 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10548 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10551 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10552 @findex gnus-article-mail
10553 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10554 given a prefix, include the mail.
10557 @kindex s (Article)
10558 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10559 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10560 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10563 @kindex ? (Article)
10564 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10565 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10566 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10569 @kindex TAB (Article)
10570 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10571 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10572 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10575 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10576 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10577 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10580 @kindex R (Article)
10581 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10582 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10583 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10584 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10588 @kindex F (Article)
10589 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10590 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10591 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10592 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10600 @section Misc Article
10604 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10605 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10606 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10607 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10610 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10611 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10613 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10614 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10616 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10617 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10618 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10619 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10620 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10621 the contents of the article buffer.
10623 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10624 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10625 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10627 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10628 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10629 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10630 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10632 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10633 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10634 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10635 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10636 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10642 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10643 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10644 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10649 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10652 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10655 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10656 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10657 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10660 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10663 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10666 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10671 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10675 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10677 @item gnus-break-pages
10678 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10679 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10680 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10681 paging will not be done.
10683 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10684 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10685 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10690 @node Composing Messages
10691 @chapter Composing Messages
10692 @cindex composing messages
10695 @cindex sending mail
10700 @cindex using s/mime
10701 @cindex using smime
10703 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10704 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10705 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10706 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10707 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10708 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10711 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10712 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10713 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10714 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10715 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10716 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10717 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10718 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10721 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10722 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10728 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10731 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10732 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10733 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10734 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10736 @item gnus-add-to-list
10737 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10738 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10739 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10741 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10742 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10743 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10744 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10745 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10750 @node Posting Server
10751 @section Posting Server
10753 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10754 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10756 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10758 It can be quite complicated.
10760 @vindex gnus-post-method
10761 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10762 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10763 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10764 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10765 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10766 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10767 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10768 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10769 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10772 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10775 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10776 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10777 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10778 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10780 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10781 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10783 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10784 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10787 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10788 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10790 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10791 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10792 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10793 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10794 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10795 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10796 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10797 package correctly. An example:
10800 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10801 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10804 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10805 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10806 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10808 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10809 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10810 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10812 @node Mail and Post
10813 @section Mail and Post
10815 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10819 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10820 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10821 @cindex mailing lists
10823 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10824 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10825 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10826 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10827 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10828 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10829 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10830 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10831 still a pain, though.
10835 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10836 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10837 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10840 @findex ispell-message
10842 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10845 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10846 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10849 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10853 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10854 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10856 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10859 Modify to suit your needs.
10862 @node Archived Messages
10863 @section Archived Messages
10864 @cindex archived messages
10865 @cindex sent messages
10867 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10868 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10869 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10870 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10873 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
10874 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
10877 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10878 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
10879 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10882 (nnfolder "archive"
10883 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10884 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10885 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10886 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10889 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10890 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10891 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10892 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10895 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10896 '(nnfolder "archive"
10897 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10898 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10899 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10902 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10904 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10905 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10906 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10908 This variable can be used to do the following:
10913 Messages will be saved in that group.
10915 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10916 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10917 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10918 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10919 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10920 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10921 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10922 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10926 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10928 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10929 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10932 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10937 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10939 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10942 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10944 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10947 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10949 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10950 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10951 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10952 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10955 More complex stuff:
10957 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10958 '((if (message-news-p)
10963 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10964 messages in one file per month:
10967 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10968 '((if (message-news-p)
10970 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10973 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10974 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10976 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10977 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10978 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10979 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10980 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10981 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10982 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10983 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10984 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10985 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10987 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10988 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10989 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10990 this will disable archiving.
10993 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10994 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10995 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10996 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10997 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11000 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11001 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11002 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11005 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11006 but the latter is the preferred method.
11008 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11009 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11010 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11012 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11013 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11014 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11015 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11016 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11017 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11018 changed in the future.
11023 @node Posting Styles
11024 @section Posting Styles
11025 @cindex posting styles
11028 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11030 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11031 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11032 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11035 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11036 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11037 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11038 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11039 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11044 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11045 (organization "What me?"))
11047 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11048 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11049 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11052 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11053 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11054 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11055 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11056 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11057 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11058 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11059 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11061 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11062 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11063 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11064 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11065 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11066 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11067 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11068 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11069 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11071 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11072 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11073 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11074 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11075 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11076 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11077 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11078 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11079 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11080 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11083 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11084 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11085 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11086 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11087 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11088 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11089 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11090 references chars lines xref extra.
11092 @vindex message-reply-headers
11094 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11095 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11096 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11098 @findex message-mail-p
11099 @findex message-news-p
11101 So here's a new example:
11104 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11106 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11108 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11109 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11111 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11112 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11113 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11114 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11115 (signature my-news-signature))
11116 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11117 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11118 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11119 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11120 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11121 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11122 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11123 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11124 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11125 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11127 (From (save-excursion
11128 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11129 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11131 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11134 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11135 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11136 if you fill many roles.
11143 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11144 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11145 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11146 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11147 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11149 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11150 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11151 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11152 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11153 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11157 @vindex nndraft-directory
11158 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11159 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11160 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11161 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11162 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11163 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11165 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11166 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11169 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11170 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11171 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11172 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11173 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11174 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11175 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11176 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11177 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11178 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11179 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11180 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11181 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11182 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11184 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11185 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11186 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11188 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11189 @kindex D e (Draft)
11190 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11191 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11192 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11194 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11197 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11198 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11199 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11200 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11201 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11202 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11203 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11206 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11207 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11208 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11211 @node Rejected Articles
11212 @section Rejected Articles
11213 @cindex rejected articles
11215 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11216 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11217 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11218 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11220 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11221 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11222 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11223 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11224 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11226 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11227 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11228 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11230 @node Signing and encrypting
11231 @section Signing and encrypting
11233 @cindex using s/mime
11234 @cindex using smime
11236 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11237 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11238 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11239 (@pxref{Security}).
11241 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11242 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11243 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11245 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11246 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11247 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11248 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11249 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11250 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11251 automatically encrypted messages.
11253 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11254 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11255 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11260 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11261 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11263 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11266 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11267 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11269 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11272 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11273 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11275 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11278 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11279 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11281 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11284 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11285 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11287 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11290 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11291 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11293 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11296 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11297 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11298 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11302 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11304 @node Select Methods
11305 @chapter Select Methods
11306 @cindex foreign groups
11307 @cindex select methods
11309 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11310 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11311 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11312 personal mail group.
11314 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11315 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11316 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11317 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11318 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11319 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11321 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11322 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11324 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11327 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11328 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11329 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11330 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11331 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11333 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11336 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11337 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11338 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11339 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11340 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11341 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11342 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11343 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11347 @node Server Buffer
11348 @section Server Buffer
11350 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11351 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11352 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11353 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11354 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11355 back end represents a virtual server.
11357 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11358 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11359 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11360 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11362 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11363 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11364 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11365 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11366 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11367 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11368 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11370 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11371 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11374 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11375 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11376 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11377 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11378 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11379 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11380 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11383 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11384 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11387 @node Server Buffer Format
11388 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11389 @cindex server buffer format
11391 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11392 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11393 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11394 variable, with some simple extensions:
11399 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11402 The name of this server.
11405 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11408 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11411 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11412 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11413 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11414 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11424 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11427 @node Server Commands
11428 @subsection Server Commands
11429 @cindex server commands
11435 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11436 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11440 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11441 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11444 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11445 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11446 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11450 @findex gnus-server-exit
11451 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11455 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11456 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11460 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11461 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11465 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11466 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11470 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11471 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11475 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11476 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11477 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11482 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11483 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11484 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11485 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11490 @node Example Methods
11491 @subsection Example Methods
11493 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11496 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11499 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11505 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11506 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11509 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11510 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11512 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11513 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11517 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11520 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11521 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11523 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11524 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11525 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11529 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11532 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11535 Here's the method for a public spool:
11539 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11540 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11546 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11547 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11548 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11549 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11550 should probably look something like this:
11554 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11555 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11556 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11557 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11560 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11561 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11562 configuration to the example above:
11565 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11568 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11570 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11571 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11572 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11576 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11577 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11578 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11579 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11582 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11583 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11584 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11585 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11588 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11589 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11591 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11592 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11594 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11595 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11596 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11598 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11600 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11601 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11602 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11603 will contain the following:
11613 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11614 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11615 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11618 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11619 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11620 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11623 @node Server Variables
11624 @subsection Server Variables
11626 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11627 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11628 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11629 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11630 won't change the "derived" variables.
11632 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11633 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11634 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11635 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11636 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11637 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11638 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11639 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11640 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11644 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11645 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11646 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11650 @node Servers and Methods
11651 @subsection Servers and Methods
11653 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11654 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11655 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11656 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11660 @node Unavailable Servers
11661 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11663 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11664 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11665 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11666 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11667 actually the case or not.
11669 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11670 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11671 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11672 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11673 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11674 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11675 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11676 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11678 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11679 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11681 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11682 with the following commands:
11688 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11689 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11690 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11694 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11695 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11696 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11700 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11701 Mark the current server as unreachable
11702 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11705 @kindex M-o (Server)
11706 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11707 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11708 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11711 @kindex M-c (Server)
11712 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11713 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11714 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11718 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11719 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11720 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11724 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11725 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11731 @section Getting News
11732 @cindex reading news
11733 @cindex news back ends
11735 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11736 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11737 or it can read from a local spool.
11740 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11741 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11749 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11750 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11751 server as the, uhm, address.
11753 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11754 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11755 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11756 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11758 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11759 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11760 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11762 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11767 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11768 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11769 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11771 @cindex authentification
11772 @cindex nntp authentification
11773 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11774 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11775 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11776 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11777 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11778 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11779 present in this hook.
11781 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11782 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11783 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11784 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11785 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11786 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11787 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11788 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11789 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11790 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11791 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11792 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11796 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11799 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11801 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11802 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11803 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11804 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11805 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11806 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11807 @samp{force} is explained below.
11811 Here's an example file:
11814 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11815 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11818 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11819 have to be first, for instance.
11821 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11822 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11823 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11824 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11825 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11826 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11827 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11829 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11830 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11836 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11837 previously mentioned.
11839 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11841 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11842 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11843 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11844 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11845 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11848 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11849 '(("innd" (ding))))
11852 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11854 The default value is
11857 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11858 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11859 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11862 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11863 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11865 @item nntp-maximum-request
11866 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11867 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11868 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11869 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11870 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11871 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11872 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11874 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11875 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11876 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11877 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11878 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11879 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11880 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11881 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11882 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11883 no timeouts are done.
11885 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11886 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11887 @c @cindex PPP connections
11888 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11889 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11890 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11891 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11892 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11893 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11894 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11895 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11896 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11897 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11899 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11900 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11901 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11902 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11903 @c described above.
11905 @item nntp-server-hook
11906 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11907 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11910 @item nntp-buggy-select
11911 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11912 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11914 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11915 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11916 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11917 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11920 @item nntp-xover-commands
11921 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11924 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11925 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11929 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11930 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11931 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11932 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11933 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11934 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11935 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11936 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11937 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11938 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11939 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11941 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11942 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11943 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11945 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11946 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11947 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11948 server closes connection.
11950 @item nntp-record-commands
11951 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11952 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11953 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11954 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11955 that doesn't seem to work.
11957 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11958 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11959 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11960 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11961 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11962 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11963 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11964 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11966 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
11967 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
11968 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
11969 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
11970 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
11971 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
11972 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
11975 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
11978 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
11979 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
11981 @item nntp-list-options
11982 @vindex nntp-list-options
11983 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
11984 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
11985 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
11986 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
11987 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
11991 (setq gnus-select-method
11992 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
11993 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
11996 @item nntp-options-subscribe
11997 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
11998 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
11999 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12000 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12001 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12002 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12005 (setq gnus-select-method
12006 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12007 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12010 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12011 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12012 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12013 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12014 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12015 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12016 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12019 (setq gnus-select-method
12020 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12021 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12026 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12027 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12028 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12032 @node Direct Functions
12033 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12034 @cindex direct connection functions
12036 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12037 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12038 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12039 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12042 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12043 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12044 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12047 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12048 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12049 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12050 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12051 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12052 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12053 define a server as follows:
12056 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12058 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12059 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12061 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12062 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12063 (nntp-port-number 563)
12064 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12067 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12068 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12069 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12070 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12071 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12072 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12073 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12074 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12078 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12079 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12080 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12083 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12084 session, which is not a good idea.
12088 @node Indirect Functions
12089 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12090 @cindex indirect connection functions
12092 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12093 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12094 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12095 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12096 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12097 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12100 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12101 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12102 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12103 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12104 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12106 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12109 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12110 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12111 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12112 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12114 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12115 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12116 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12117 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12118 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12119 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12120 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12121 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12124 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12125 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12126 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12127 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12129 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12132 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12133 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12134 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12137 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12138 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12139 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12140 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12142 @item nntp-via-user-password
12143 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12144 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12146 @item nntp-via-envuser
12147 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12148 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12149 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12150 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12152 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12153 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12154 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12155 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12162 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12167 @item nntp-via-user-name
12168 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12169 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12171 @item nntp-via-address
12172 @vindex nntp-via-address
12173 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12178 @node Common Variables
12179 @subsubsection Common Variables
12181 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12182 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12187 @item nntp-pre-command
12188 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12189 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12190 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12191 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12192 wrapper for instance.
12195 @vindex nntp-address
12196 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12198 @item nntp-port-number
12199 @vindex nntp-port-number
12200 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12201 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12202 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12203 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12205 @item nntp-end-of-line
12206 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12207 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12208 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12209 using a non native connection function.
12211 @item nntp-telnet-command
12212 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12213 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12214 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12215 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12217 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12218 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12219 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12226 @subsection News Spool
12230 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12231 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12232 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12235 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12236 anything else) as the address.
12238 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12239 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12240 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12241 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12245 @item nnspool-inews-program
12246 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12247 Program used to post an article.
12249 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12250 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12251 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12253 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12254 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12255 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12256 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12258 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12259 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12260 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12261 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12263 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12264 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12265 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12267 @item nnspool-active-file
12268 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12269 The path to the active file.
12271 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12272 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12273 The path to the group descriptions file.
12275 @item nnspool-history-file
12276 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12277 The path to the news history file.
12279 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12280 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12281 The path to the active date file.
12283 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12284 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12285 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12288 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12289 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12291 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12292 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12293 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12299 @section Getting Mail
12300 @cindex reading mail
12303 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12307 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12308 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12309 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12310 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12311 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12312 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12313 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12314 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12315 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12316 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12317 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12318 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12319 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12323 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12324 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12326 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12327 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12328 of a culture shock.
12330 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12331 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12333 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12334 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12335 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12336 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12338 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12340 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12341 deleted? How awful!
12343 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12344 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12345 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12346 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12349 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12350 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12351 they want to treat a message.
12353 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12354 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12355 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12356 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12357 archived somewhere else.
12359 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12360 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12361 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12362 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12363 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12365 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12366 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12367 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12369 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12370 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12373 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12374 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12375 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12376 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12377 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12379 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12380 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12381 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12382 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12383 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12384 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12388 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12389 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12391 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12392 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12393 and things will happen automatically.
12395 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12396 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12399 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12402 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12403 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12404 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12405 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12406 like any other group.
12408 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12411 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12412 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12413 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12417 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12418 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12419 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12422 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12423 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12424 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12427 @node Splitting Mail
12428 @subsection Splitting Mail
12429 @cindex splitting mail
12430 @cindex mail splitting
12432 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12433 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12434 to be split into groups.
12437 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12438 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12439 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12440 ("mail.other" "")))
12443 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12444 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12445 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12446 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12447 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12448 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12449 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12452 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12455 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12456 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12457 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12458 mail belongs in that group.
12460 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12461 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12462 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12463 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12464 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12465 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12467 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12468 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12469 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12470 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12471 thinks should carry this mail message.
12473 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12474 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12475 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12476 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12478 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12479 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12480 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12481 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12482 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12484 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12487 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12488 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12489 links. If that's the case for you, set
12490 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12491 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12493 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12494 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12495 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12496 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12497 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12498 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12501 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12502 Header lines longer than the value of
12503 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12506 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12507 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12508 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12509 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12510 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12511 can be turned off completely by binding
12512 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12513 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12515 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12516 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12517 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12518 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12519 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12520 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12521 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12522 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12523 month's rent money.
12527 @subsection Mail Sources
12529 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12530 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12534 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12535 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12536 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12540 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12541 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12543 @cindex mail server
12546 @cindex mail source
12548 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12549 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12554 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12557 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12558 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12559 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12562 The following mail source types are available:
12566 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12572 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12573 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12574 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12577 An example file mail source:
12580 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12583 Or using the default path:
12589 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12590 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12591 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12594 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12598 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12601 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12605 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12608 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12610 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12613 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12617 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
12618 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
12619 That is, mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in the
12620 group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12621 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12622 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus
12623 to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you
12624 want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12626 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12627 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12628 to all the files from the directory.
12634 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12638 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12642 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12643 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12644 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12645 predicate are considered.
12649 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12653 An example directory mail source:
12656 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12661 Get mail from a POP server.
12667 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12668 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12671 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12672 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12673 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12674 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12675 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12678 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12682 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12686 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12687 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12690 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12693 The valid format specifier characters are:
12697 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12698 included in this string.
12701 The name of the server.
12704 The port number of the server.
12707 The user name to use.
12710 The password to use.
12713 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12714 corresponding keywords.
12717 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12718 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12721 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12722 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12725 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12726 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12729 @item :authentication
12730 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12731 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12735 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
12736 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
12737 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
12738 programs and libraries:
12742 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
12743 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
12744 library @samp{ssl.el}.
12746 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
12747 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
12752 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
12753 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
12757 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12758 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12760 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12761 default user name, and default fetcher:
12767 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12770 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12771 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12774 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12777 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12781 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12782 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12783 contains exactly one mail.
12789 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12790 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12793 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12794 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12796 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12797 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12798 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12801 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12802 from locking problems).
12806 Two example maildir mail sources:
12809 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12810 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12814 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12819 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12820 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12821 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12822 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12825 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12826 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12832 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12833 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12836 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12837 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12840 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12844 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12848 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12849 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12850 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12851 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12853 @item :authentication
12854 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12855 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12856 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12857 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12860 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12861 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12862 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12868 The valid format specifier characters are:
12872 The name of the server.
12875 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12878 The port number of the server.
12881 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12882 corresponding keywords.
12885 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12886 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12889 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12890 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12891 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12892 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12893 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12894 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12897 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12898 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12899 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12900 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12903 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12904 after finishing the fetch.
12908 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12911 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12913 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12917 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
12918 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
12919 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
12921 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12922 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12924 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
12930 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12931 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12934 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12938 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12942 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12943 folder after finishing the fetch.
12947 An example webmail source:
12950 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12952 :password "secret")
12957 @item Common Keywords
12958 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12964 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12965 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12969 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12974 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12975 useful when you use local mail and news.
12980 @subsubsection Function Interface
12982 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12983 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12984 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12985 consider the following mail-source setting:
12988 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12989 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12992 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12993 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12994 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12995 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12996 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12998 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13001 @node Mail Source Customization
13002 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13004 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13005 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13009 @item mail-source-crash-box
13010 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13011 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13012 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13014 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13015 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13016 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13018 @item mail-source-directory
13019 @vindex mail-source-directory
13020 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13021 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13022 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13025 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13026 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13027 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13028 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13029 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13030 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13032 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13033 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13034 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13036 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13037 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13038 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13039 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13044 @node Fetching Mail
13045 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13047 @vindex mail-sources
13048 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13049 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13050 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13051 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13053 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13054 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13057 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13058 mail server, you'd say something like:
13063 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13064 :password "secret")))
13067 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13071 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13072 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13075 :password "secret")))
13079 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13080 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13081 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13082 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13083 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13084 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13088 @node Mail Back End Variables
13089 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13091 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13095 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13096 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13097 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13098 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13100 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13101 @item nnmail-split-hook
13102 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13103 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13104 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13105 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13106 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13107 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13108 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13109 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13110 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13113 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13114 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13115 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13116 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13117 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13118 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13119 starting to handle the new mail) and
13120 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13121 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13122 default file modes the new mail files get:
13125 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13126 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13128 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13129 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13132 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13133 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13134 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13135 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13136 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13137 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13138 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13140 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13141 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13142 @findex delete-file
13143 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13145 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13146 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13147 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13148 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13149 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13151 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13152 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13153 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13154 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13155 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13157 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13158 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13159 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13164 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13165 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13166 @cindex mail splitting
13167 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13169 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13170 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13171 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13172 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13173 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13174 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13176 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13179 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13180 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13181 ;; from real errors.
13182 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13184 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13185 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13186 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13187 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13188 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13189 ;; Other mailing lists...
13190 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13191 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13192 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13193 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13194 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13195 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13196 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13197 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13199 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13200 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13204 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13205 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13206 the five possible split syntaxes:
13211 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13212 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13216 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13217 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13218 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13219 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13220 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13221 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13222 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13223 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13226 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13227 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13228 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13229 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13232 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13233 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13236 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13237 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13240 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13241 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13242 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13243 function should return a @var{split}.
13246 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13247 body of the messages:
13250 (defun split-on-body ()
13252 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13253 (goto-char (point-min))
13254 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13258 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13259 when the @code{:} function is run.
13262 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13263 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13264 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13268 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13272 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13273 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13274 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13275 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13276 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13278 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13279 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13280 are expanded as specified by the variable
13281 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13282 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13285 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13286 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13287 when all this splitting is performed.
13289 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13290 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13291 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13294 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13297 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13298 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13300 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13301 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13302 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13303 groupings 1 through 9.
13305 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13306 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13307 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13308 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13309 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13310 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13311 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13312 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13313 it once per thread.
13315 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13316 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13317 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13320 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13321 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13323 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13324 ;; other splits go here
13328 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13329 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13330 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13331 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13332 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13333 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13334 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13335 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13336 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13337 unless the group name matches the regexp
13338 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13339 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13340 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13341 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13342 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13343 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13344 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13345 messages goes into the new group.
13347 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13348 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13349 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13350 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13351 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13355 @node Group Mail Splitting
13356 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13357 @cindex mail splitting
13358 @cindex group mail splitting
13360 @findex gnus-group-split
13361 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13362 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13363 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13364 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13365 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13366 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13367 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13368 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13370 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13371 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13372 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13373 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13375 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13376 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13377 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13378 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13379 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13380 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13381 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13383 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13384 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13385 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13386 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13387 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13388 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13389 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13391 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13392 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13393 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13394 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13395 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13396 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13397 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13398 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13399 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13400 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13401 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13402 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13403 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13405 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13410 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13411 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13413 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13414 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13415 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13416 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13418 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13421 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13422 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13423 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13426 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13427 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13428 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13432 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13433 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13434 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13438 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13441 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13442 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13443 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13444 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13445 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13446 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13447 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13448 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13449 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13451 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13452 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13453 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13454 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13455 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13456 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13457 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13458 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13459 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13461 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13462 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13463 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13464 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13465 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13466 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13469 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13472 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13473 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13474 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13475 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13476 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13479 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13480 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13481 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13482 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13484 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13485 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13486 @cindex incorporating old mail
13487 @cindex import old mail
13489 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13490 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13491 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13494 Doing so can be quite easy.
13496 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13497 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13498 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13499 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13500 your @code{nnml} groups.
13506 Go to the group buffer.
13509 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13510 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13513 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13516 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13517 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13520 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13521 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13524 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13525 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13526 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13527 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13528 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13530 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13531 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13532 using the new mail back end.
13535 @node Expiring Mail
13536 @subsection Expiring Mail
13537 @cindex article expiry
13539 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13540 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13541 different approach to mail reading.
13543 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13544 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13545 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13546 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13547 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13548 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13551 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13552 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13553 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13554 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13555 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13556 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13557 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13558 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13560 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13561 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13562 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13563 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13564 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13565 column in the summary buffer.
13567 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13568 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13569 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13570 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13573 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13575 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13576 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13577 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13580 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13581 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13582 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13583 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13584 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13586 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13587 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13590 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13591 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13594 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13595 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13597 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13598 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13599 don't really mix very well.
13601 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13602 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13603 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13604 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13607 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13608 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13609 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13610 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13613 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13615 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13617 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13619 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13621 ((string= group "important")
13627 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13628 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13630 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13631 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13632 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13635 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13636 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13638 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13639 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13640 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13641 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13642 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13643 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13644 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13645 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13646 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13647 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13648 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13649 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13650 name or @code{delete}.
13652 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13654 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13657 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13658 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13659 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13660 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13661 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13664 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13665 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13666 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13667 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13668 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13671 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13672 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13673 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13674 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13675 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13676 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13678 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13679 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13680 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13681 easier for procmail users.
13683 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13684 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13685 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13686 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13687 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13688 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13689 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13690 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13691 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13692 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13693 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13694 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13695 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13698 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13700 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13701 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13702 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13703 auto-expire turned on.
13707 @subsection Washing Mail
13708 @cindex mail washing
13709 @cindex list server brain damage
13710 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13712 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13713 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13714 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13715 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13716 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13717 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13719 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13720 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13721 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13724 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13725 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13726 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13727 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13730 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13731 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13732 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13733 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13734 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13737 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13738 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13739 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13740 Emacs running on MS machines.
13744 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13745 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13746 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13747 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13750 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13751 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13752 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13753 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13755 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13756 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13757 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13758 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13759 into a feature by documenting it.)
13761 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13762 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13763 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13764 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13765 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13766 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13767 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13770 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13771 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13774 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13775 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13778 This can also be done non-destructively with
13779 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13781 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13782 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13783 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13785 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13786 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13788 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13789 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13790 @code{References} headers.
13794 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13795 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13796 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13800 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13801 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13802 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13809 @subsection Duplicates
13811 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13812 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13813 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13814 @cindex duplicate mails
13815 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13816 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13817 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13818 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13819 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13820 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13821 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13822 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13823 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13824 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13825 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13826 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13827 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13829 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13830 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13831 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13832 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13834 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13837 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13838 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13842 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13843 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13844 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13845 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13846 (any mail "mail.misc")
13853 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13854 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13859 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13860 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13861 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13862 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13863 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13866 @node Not Reading Mail
13867 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13869 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13870 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13871 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13873 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13874 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13875 mail, which should help.
13877 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13878 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13879 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13880 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13881 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13882 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13883 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13884 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13885 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13886 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13887 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13889 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13890 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13894 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13895 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13897 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13898 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13899 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13901 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13902 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13903 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13904 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13905 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13906 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13907 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
13910 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13911 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13912 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13913 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13914 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13915 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13919 @node Unix Mail Box
13920 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13922 @cindex unix mail box
13924 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13925 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13926 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13927 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13928 which group it belongs in.
13930 Virtual server settings:
13933 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13934 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13935 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13938 @item nnmbox-active-file
13939 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13940 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13941 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13943 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13944 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13945 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13946 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13951 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13955 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13956 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13957 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13958 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13959 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13961 Virtual server settings:
13964 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13965 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13966 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13968 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13969 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13970 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13971 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13973 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13974 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13975 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13981 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13983 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13985 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13986 format. It should be used with some caution.
13988 @vindex nnml-directory
13989 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13990 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13991 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13992 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13994 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13997 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13998 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13999 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14000 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14001 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14002 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14003 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14004 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14006 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14007 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14008 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14009 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14011 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14013 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14014 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14015 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14016 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14017 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14018 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14019 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14020 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14023 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14024 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14025 them next time it starts.
14027 Virtual server settings:
14030 @item nnml-directory
14031 @vindex nnml-directory
14032 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14033 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14036 @item nnml-active-file
14037 @vindex nnml-active-file
14038 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14039 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14041 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14042 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14043 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14044 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14046 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14047 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14048 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14051 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14052 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14053 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14054 default is @code{nil}.
14056 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14057 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14058 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14060 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14061 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14062 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14064 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14065 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14066 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14067 default is @code{nil}.
14069 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14070 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14071 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14073 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14074 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14075 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14080 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14081 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14082 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14083 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14084 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14085 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14086 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14091 @subsubsection MH Spool
14093 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14095 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14096 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14097 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14098 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14100 Virtual server settings:
14103 @item nnmh-directory
14104 @vindex nnmh-directory
14105 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14106 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14109 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14110 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14111 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14115 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14116 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14117 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14118 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14119 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14120 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14121 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14126 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14128 @cindex mbox folders
14129 @cindex mail folders
14131 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14132 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14133 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14136 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14138 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14139 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14140 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14141 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14142 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14143 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14144 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14145 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14146 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14147 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14149 Virtual server settings:
14152 @item nnfolder-directory
14153 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14154 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14155 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14158 @item nnfolder-active-file
14159 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14160 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14162 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14163 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14164 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14165 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14167 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14168 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14169 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14172 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14173 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14174 @cindex backup files
14175 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14176 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14177 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14178 your @file{.emacs} file:
14181 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14182 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14184 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14187 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14188 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14189 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14190 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14191 extract some information from it before removing it.
14193 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14194 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14195 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14196 default is @code{nil}.
14198 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14199 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14200 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14202 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14203 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14204 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14205 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14207 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14208 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14209 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14210 default is @code{nil}.
14212 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14213 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14214 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14216 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14217 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14218 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14219 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14224 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14225 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14226 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14227 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14228 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14229 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14232 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14233 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14235 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14236 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14237 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14238 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14239 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14241 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14242 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14243 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14244 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14245 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14246 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14247 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14248 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14251 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14252 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14253 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14254 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14259 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14260 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14261 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14262 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14263 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14264 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14265 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14266 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14267 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14268 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14269 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14270 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14271 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14276 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14277 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14278 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14279 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14280 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14281 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14282 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14283 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14284 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14285 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14286 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14287 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14288 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14289 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14291 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14292 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14297 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14298 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14299 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14300 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14301 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14302 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14303 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14304 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14305 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14306 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14307 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14308 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14309 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14310 provided by the active file and overviews.
14312 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14313 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14314 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14315 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14316 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14319 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14320 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14325 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14326 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14327 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14328 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14329 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14330 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14331 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14335 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14336 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14337 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14338 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14339 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14340 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14341 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14342 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14343 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14345 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14346 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14347 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14348 friendly mail back end all over.
14352 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14353 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14354 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14355 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14356 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14357 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14358 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14359 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14362 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14363 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14364 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14365 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14366 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14367 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14368 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14369 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14370 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14371 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14372 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14374 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14375 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14376 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14377 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14378 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14379 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14380 This will probably be changed in the future.
14382 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14383 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14384 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14385 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14386 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14389 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14390 parameters slightly different from those of other mail backends.
14392 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14393 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14394 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14395 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14396 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14397 would) to make it use less memory.
14399 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14400 with other backends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14401 depending in part on your filesystem.
14403 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14404 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived backend.
14409 @node Browsing the Web
14410 @section Browsing the Web
14412 @cindex browsing the web
14416 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14417 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14418 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14419 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14420 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14421 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14422 even know what a news group is.
14424 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14425 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14426 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14427 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14428 you mad in the end.
14430 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14433 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14434 interfaces to these sources.
14438 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14439 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14440 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14441 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14442 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14443 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14446 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14448 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14449 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14450 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14451 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14452 though, you should be ok.
14454 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14455 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14456 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14457 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14458 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14460 @node Archiving Mail
14461 @subsection Archiving Mail
14462 @cindex archiving mail
14463 @cindex backup of mail
14465 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14466 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14467 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14468 marks is fairly simple.
14470 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14471 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14474 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14475 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14476 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14477 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14478 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14479 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14480 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14481 before you restore the data.
14483 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14484 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14485 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14486 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14487 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14488 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14489 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14490 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14491 is unnecessary in that case.
14494 @subsection Web Searches
14499 @cindex Usenet searches
14500 @cindex searching the Usenet
14502 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14503 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14504 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14505 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14506 searches without having to use a browser.
14508 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14509 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14510 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14511 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14512 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14514 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14515 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14516 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14517 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14518 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14519 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14520 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14521 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14522 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14523 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14526 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14527 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14528 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14529 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14530 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14531 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14533 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14534 to use @code{nnweb}.
14536 Virtual server variables:
14541 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14542 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14543 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14546 @vindex nnweb-search
14547 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14549 @item nnweb-max-hits
14550 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14551 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14554 @item nnweb-type-definition
14555 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14556 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14557 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14562 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14566 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14569 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14572 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14576 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14583 @subsection Slashdot
14587 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14588 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14589 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14591 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14592 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14595 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14596 '((nnslashdot "")))
14599 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14600 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14601 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14602 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14603 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14606 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14607 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14609 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14610 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14611 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14612 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14613 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14614 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14617 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14620 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14621 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14622 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14623 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14624 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14625 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14626 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14628 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14629 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14630 The login name to use when posting.
14632 @item nnslashdot-password
14633 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14634 The password to use when posting.
14636 @item nnslashdot-directory
14637 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14638 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14639 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14641 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14642 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14643 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14644 news articles and comments. The default is
14645 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14647 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14648 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14649 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14651 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14653 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14654 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14655 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14657 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14659 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14660 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14661 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14663 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14664 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14665 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14666 updated. The default is 0.
14673 @subsection Ultimate
14675 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14677 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14678 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14679 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14680 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14682 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14683 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14684 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14685 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14686 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14687 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14688 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14690 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14693 @item nnultimate-directory
14694 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14695 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14696 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14701 @subsection Web Archive
14703 @cindex Web Archive
14705 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14706 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14707 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14708 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14711 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14712 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14713 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14714 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14715 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14716 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14717 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14719 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14722 @item nnwarchive-directory
14723 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14724 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14725 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14727 @item nnwarchive-login
14728 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14729 The account name on the web server.
14731 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14732 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14733 The password for your account on the web server.
14741 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14742 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14743 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14746 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14747 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14750 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14753 @item nnrss-directory
14754 @vindex nnrss-directory
14755 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14756 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14760 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14761 the summary buffer.
14764 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14765 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14767 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14769 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14770 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14773 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14776 (require 'browse-url)
14778 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14780 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14783 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14784 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14786 (browse-url (cdr url))
14787 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14789 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14790 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14791 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14792 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14795 @node Customizing w3
14796 @subsection Customizing w3
14802 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14803 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14804 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14806 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14807 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14808 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14811 (eval-after-load "w3"
14813 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14814 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14815 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14816 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14818 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14821 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14822 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14831 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14832 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14833 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14834 specify the network address of the server.
14836 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14837 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14838 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14839 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14840 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14842 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14843 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14844 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14845 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14847 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14848 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14849 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14850 usage explained in this section.
14852 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14853 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14854 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14857 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14858 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14859 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14861 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14862 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14863 ; a UW server running on localhost
14865 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14866 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14867 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14868 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14869 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14870 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14871 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14872 (nnimap-stream network))
14873 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14875 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14876 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14877 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14880 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14885 @item nnimap-address
14886 @vindex nnimap-address
14888 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14889 server name if not specified.
14891 @item nnimap-server-port
14892 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14893 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14895 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14898 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14899 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14902 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14903 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14904 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14905 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14906 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14907 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14908 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14910 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14911 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14912 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14915 Example server specification:
14918 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14919 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14920 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14923 @item nnimap-stream
14924 @vindex nnimap-stream
14925 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14926 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14927 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
14928 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
14930 Example server specification:
14933 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14934 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14937 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14941 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
14942 @samp{imtest} program.
14944 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14946 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14947 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14950 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
14951 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
14952 library @samp{ssl.el}.
14954 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14956 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14959 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14960 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14961 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14962 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14963 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14964 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14965 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14966 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14967 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14970 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14971 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14972 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14973 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14974 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14975 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14976 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14977 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
14978 distribution, for instance).
14980 @vindex imap-shell-program
14981 @vindex imap-shell-host
14982 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14983 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14985 @item nnimap-authenticator
14986 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14988 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14989 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14991 Example server specification:
14994 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14995 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14998 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15002 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15003 external program @code{imtest}.
15005 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15008 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15009 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15011 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15013 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15015 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15018 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15020 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15021 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15022 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15023 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15024 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15025 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15028 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15029 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15030 running in circles yet?
15032 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15033 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15036 The possible options are:
15041 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15044 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15045 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15046 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15047 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15049 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15054 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15055 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15057 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15058 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15059 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15060 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15061 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15064 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15065 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15068 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15069 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15070 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15071 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15074 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15075 as ticked for other users.
15077 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15079 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15081 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15082 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15083 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15084 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15086 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15087 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15088 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15089 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15091 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15092 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15094 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15095 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15096 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15102 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15103 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15104 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15109 @node Splitting in IMAP
15110 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15111 @cindex splitting imap mail
15113 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15114 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15115 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15116 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15117 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15121 Here are the variables of interest:
15125 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15126 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15128 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15130 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15131 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15133 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15135 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15136 @cindex splitting, inbox
15138 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15140 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15141 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15145 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15146 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15149 No nnmail equivalent.
15151 @item nnimap-split-rule
15152 @cindex Splitting, rules
15153 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15155 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15158 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15159 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15160 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15161 Neither did I, we need examples.
15164 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15166 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15167 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15168 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15171 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15172 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15173 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15175 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15176 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15180 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15183 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15184 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15185 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15186 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15188 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15189 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15190 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15191 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15192 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15193 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15195 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15196 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15197 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15199 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15200 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15201 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15203 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15205 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15206 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15207 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15210 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15211 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15212 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15213 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15214 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15215 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15218 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15219 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15220 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15221 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15222 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15223 group/function elements.
15225 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15227 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15229 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15231 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15232 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15234 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15235 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15236 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15239 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15240 @cindex splitting, fancy
15241 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15242 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15244 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15245 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15246 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15248 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15249 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15250 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15251 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15256 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15257 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15260 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15264 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15265 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15266 @cindex editing imap acls
15267 @cindex Access Control Lists
15268 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15270 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15272 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15273 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15274 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15277 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15278 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15279 editing window with detailed instructions.
15281 Some possible uses:
15285 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15286 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15287 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15289 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15290 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15291 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15295 @node Expunging mailboxes
15296 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15300 @cindex Manual expunging
15302 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15304 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15305 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15306 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15308 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15313 @node Other Sources
15314 @section Other Sources
15316 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15317 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15321 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15322 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15323 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15324 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15325 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15329 @node Directory Groups
15330 @subsection Directory Groups
15332 @cindex directory groups
15334 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15335 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15338 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15339 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15340 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15341 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15343 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15344 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15345 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15346 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15347 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15349 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15351 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15352 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15353 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15354 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15357 @node Anything Groups
15358 @subsection Anything Groups
15361 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15362 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15363 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15366 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15367 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15368 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15369 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15370 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15371 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15372 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15373 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15374 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15375 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15378 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15379 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15380 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15381 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15383 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15384 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15385 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15386 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15388 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15389 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15390 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15391 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15392 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15393 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15394 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15395 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15400 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15401 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15402 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15403 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15405 @item nneething-exclude-files
15406 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15407 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15408 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15410 @item nneething-include-files
15411 @vindex nneething-include-files
15412 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15413 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15415 @item nneething-map-file
15416 @vindex nneething-map-file
15417 Name of the map files.
15421 @node Document Groups
15422 @subsection Document Groups
15424 @cindex documentation group
15427 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15428 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15435 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15440 The standard Unix mbox file.
15442 @cindex MMDF mail box
15444 The MMDF mail box format.
15447 Several news articles appended into a file.
15450 @cindex rnews batch files
15451 The rnews batch transport format.
15452 @cindex forwarded messages
15455 Forwarded articles.
15458 Netscape mail boxes.
15461 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15463 @item standard-digest
15464 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15467 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15469 @item lanl-gov-announce
15470 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15472 @item rfc822-forward
15473 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15476 The Outlook mail box.
15479 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15482 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15485 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15488 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15494 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15497 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15503 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15504 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15505 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15508 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15509 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15510 group. And that's it.
15512 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15513 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15514 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15515 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15516 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15517 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15518 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15519 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15520 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15521 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15523 Virtual server variables:
15526 @item nndoc-article-type
15527 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15528 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15529 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15530 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15531 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15532 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15534 @item nndoc-post-type
15535 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15536 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15537 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15542 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15546 @node Document Server Internals
15547 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15549 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15550 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15551 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15552 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15554 First, here's an example document type definition:
15558 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15559 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15562 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15563 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15564 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15565 types can be defined with very few settings:
15568 @item first-article
15569 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15570 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15573 @item article-begin
15574 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15575 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15577 @item head-begin-function
15578 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15581 @item nndoc-head-begin
15582 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15585 @item nndoc-head-end
15586 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15587 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15589 @item body-begin-function
15590 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15594 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15597 @item body-end-function
15598 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15602 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15605 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15606 regexp will be totally ignored.
15610 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15611 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15612 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15613 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15614 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15617 @item prepare-body-function
15618 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15619 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15620 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15622 @item article-transform-function
15623 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15624 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15625 body of the article.
15627 @item generate-head-function
15628 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15629 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15630 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15631 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15635 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15640 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15641 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15642 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15643 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15644 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15645 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15646 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15647 (subtype digest guess))
15650 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15651 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15652 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15653 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15654 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15656 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15657 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15658 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15659 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15660 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
15661 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15662 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15663 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15664 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15665 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15673 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15674 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15675 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15677 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15678 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15679 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15682 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15683 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15684 that interested in doing things properly.
15686 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15687 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15690 First some terminology:
15695 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15696 get news and/or mail from.
15699 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15700 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15703 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15707 @item message packets
15708 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15709 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15710 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15712 @item response packets
15713 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15714 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15715 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15725 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15726 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15727 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15728 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15731 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15734 You put the packet in your home directory.
15737 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15738 the native or secondary server.
15741 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15742 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15745 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15749 You transfer this packet to the server.
15752 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15755 You then repeat until you die.
15759 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15760 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15763 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15764 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15765 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15769 @node SOUP Commands
15770 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15772 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15776 @kindex G s b (Group)
15777 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15778 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15779 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15780 process/prefix convention.
15783 @kindex G s w (Group)
15784 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15785 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15788 @kindex G s s (Group)
15789 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15790 Send all replies from the replies packet
15791 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15794 @kindex G s p (Group)
15795 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15796 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15799 @kindex G s r (Group)
15800 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15801 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15804 @kindex O s (Summary)
15805 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15806 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15807 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15808 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15813 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15818 @item gnus-soup-directory
15819 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15820 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15821 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15823 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15824 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15825 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15826 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15828 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15829 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15830 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15831 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15833 @item gnus-soup-packer
15834 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15835 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15836 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15838 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15839 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15840 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15841 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15843 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15844 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15845 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15847 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15848 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15849 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15850 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15856 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
15859 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15860 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15861 you can read them at leisure.
15863 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15867 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15868 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15869 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15870 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15872 @item nnsoup-directory
15873 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15874 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15875 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15877 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15878 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15879 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15880 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15882 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15883 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15884 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15885 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15886 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15888 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15889 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15890 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15891 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15893 @item nnsoup-active-file
15894 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15895 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15896 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15897 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15898 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15900 @item nnsoup-packer
15901 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15902 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15903 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15905 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15906 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15907 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15908 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15910 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15911 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15912 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15915 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15916 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15917 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15920 @item nnsoup-always-save
15921 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15922 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15928 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15930 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15931 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15932 more for that to happen.
15934 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15935 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15936 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15939 In specific, this is what it does:
15942 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15943 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15946 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15947 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15948 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15951 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15952 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15953 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15956 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15957 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15958 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15960 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15966 @item nngateway-address
15967 @vindex nngateway-address
15968 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15970 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15971 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15972 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15973 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15974 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15975 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15976 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15979 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15980 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15981 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15984 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15987 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
15990 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15993 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15995 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15998 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15999 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16000 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16002 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16004 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16005 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16006 @code{nngateway-address}.
16011 (setq gnus-post-method
16013 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16014 (nngateway-header-transformation
16015 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16023 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16026 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16031 @node Combined Groups
16032 @section Combined Groups
16034 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16038 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16039 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16043 @node Virtual Groups
16044 @subsection Virtual Groups
16046 @cindex virtual groups
16047 @cindex merging groups
16049 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16052 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16053 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16054 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16056 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16057 regexp to match component groups.
16059 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16060 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16061 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16062 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16063 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16064 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16065 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16066 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16068 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16069 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16072 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16075 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16076 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16078 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16079 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16080 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16081 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16084 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16087 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16088 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16089 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16091 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16092 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16093 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16094 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16095 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16097 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16098 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16099 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16101 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16102 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16103 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16104 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16105 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16106 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16107 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16108 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16109 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16110 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16111 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16113 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16114 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16115 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16116 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16117 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16118 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16119 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16121 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16122 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16124 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16125 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16129 @node Kibozed Groups
16130 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16134 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16135 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16136 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16137 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16139 @kindex G k (Group)
16140 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16143 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16144 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16145 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16146 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16148 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16149 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16150 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16152 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16153 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16154 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16155 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16156 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16157 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16158 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16159 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16161 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16162 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16163 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16164 Stranger things have happened.
16166 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16167 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16169 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16170 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16171 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16172 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16173 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16174 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16176 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16177 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16180 @node Gnus Unplugged
16181 @section Gnus Unplugged
16186 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16188 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16189 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16190 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16191 read news. Believe it or not.
16193 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16194 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16195 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16196 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16197 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16199 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16200 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16201 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16202 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16203 reading news on a machine.
16205 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16206 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16208 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16211 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16212 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16213 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16214 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16215 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16216 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16217 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16218 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16219 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16220 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16221 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16226 @subsection Agent Basics
16228 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16230 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16231 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16232 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16233 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16235 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16236 connected to the net continuously.
16238 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16239 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16241 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16246 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16247 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16248 already fetched while in this mode.
16251 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16252 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16253 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16254 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16255 Source Specifiers}).
16258 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16259 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16260 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16261 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16262 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16265 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16266 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16267 then you read the news offline.
16270 And then you go to step 2.
16273 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16279 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16280 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16281 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16282 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16283 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16284 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16285 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16286 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16289 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16296 @node Agent Categories
16297 @subsection Agent Categories
16299 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16300 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16301 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16302 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16303 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16304 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16305 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16307 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16308 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16309 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16310 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16311 managing categories.
16314 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16315 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16316 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16320 @node Category Syntax
16321 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16323 A category consists of two things.
16327 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16328 are eligible for downloading; and
16331 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16332 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16333 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16336 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16337 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16338 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16339 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16341 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16342 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16343 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16345 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16346 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16347 operators sprinkled in between.
16349 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16351 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16352 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16358 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16359 short (for some value of ``short'').
16361 Here's a more complex predicate:
16370 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16371 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16374 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16375 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16376 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16378 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16379 you want to do, you can write your own.
16383 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16384 lines; default 100.
16387 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16388 lines; default 200.
16391 True iff the article has a download score less than
16392 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16395 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16396 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16399 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16400 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16401 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16410 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16411 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16412 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16415 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16416 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16417 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16418 something along the lines of the following:
16421 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16422 "Say whether an article is old."
16423 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16424 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16427 with the predicate then defined as:
16430 (not my-article-old-p)
16433 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16434 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16438 (require 'gnus-agent)
16439 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16440 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16441 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16444 and simply specify your predicate as:
16450 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16451 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16452 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16453 just don't give a damn.
16455 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16456 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16457 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16458 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16459 parameters like so:
16462 (agent-predicate . short)
16465 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16466 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16467 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16469 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16472 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16475 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16476 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16477 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16480 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16481 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16482 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16483 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16484 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16485 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16487 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16488 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16489 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16490 if it's to be specific to that group.
16492 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16499 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16500 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16506 Category specification
16510 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16516 Group Parameter specification
16519 (agent-score ("from"
16520 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16525 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16531 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16538 Category specification
16541 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16547 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16551 Group Parameter specification
16554 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16557 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16562 Use @code{normal} score files
16564 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16565 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16566 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16567 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16569 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16570 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16571 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16572 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16576 Category Specification
16583 Group Parameter specification
16586 (agent-score . file)
16591 @node Category Buffer
16592 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16594 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16595 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16596 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16598 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16602 @kindex q (Category)
16603 @findex gnus-category-exit
16604 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16607 @kindex k (Category)
16608 @findex gnus-category-kill
16609 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16612 @kindex c (Category)
16613 @findex gnus-category-copy
16614 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16617 @kindex a (Category)
16618 @findex gnus-category-add
16619 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16622 @kindex p (Category)
16623 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16624 Edit the predicate of the current category
16625 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16628 @kindex g (Category)
16629 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16630 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16631 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16634 @kindex s (Category)
16635 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16636 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16637 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16640 @kindex l (Category)
16641 @findex gnus-category-list
16642 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16646 @node Category Variables
16647 @subsubsection Category Variables
16650 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16651 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16652 Hook run in category buffers.
16654 @item gnus-category-line-format
16655 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16656 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16657 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16661 The name of the category.
16664 The number of groups in the category.
16667 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16668 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16669 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16671 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16672 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16673 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16675 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16676 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16677 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16679 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16680 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16681 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16684 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16685 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16686 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16692 @node Agent Commands
16693 @subsection Agent Commands
16695 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16696 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16697 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16701 * Group Agent Commands::
16702 * Summary Agent Commands::
16703 * Server Agent Commands::
16706 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16707 following incantation:
16709 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16711 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16716 @node Group Agent Commands
16717 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16721 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16722 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16723 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16724 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16727 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16728 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16729 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16732 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16733 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16734 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16735 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16738 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16739 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16740 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16741 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16744 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16745 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16746 Add the current group to an Agent category
16747 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16748 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16751 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16752 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16753 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16754 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16755 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16758 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16759 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16760 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16766 @node Summary Agent Commands
16767 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16771 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16772 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16773 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16776 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16777 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16778 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16779 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16782 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16783 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16784 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16787 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16788 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16789 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16792 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16793 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16794 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16795 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16800 @node Server Agent Commands
16801 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16805 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16806 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16807 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16808 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16811 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16812 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16813 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16814 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16819 @node Agent as Cache
16820 @subsection Agent as Cache
16822 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
16823 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
16824 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
16825 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
16826 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
16827 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
16828 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
16829 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
16830 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
16832 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
16833 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
16836 @subsection Agent Expiry
16838 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16839 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16840 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16841 @cindex Agent expiry
16842 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16845 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16846 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16847 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16848 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16849 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16850 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16852 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16853 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16854 expiry in different groups.
16857 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16863 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16864 method---it must always match all groups.
16866 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16867 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16868 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16869 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16870 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16872 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
16873 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
16874 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
16875 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
16877 @node Agent and IMAP
16878 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16880 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16881 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16882 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16883 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
16885 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
16886 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
16887 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
16888 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
16890 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
16891 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
16892 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
16893 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
16895 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16896 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
16897 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
16898 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
16899 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
16900 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16902 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
16903 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
16904 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16905 in the group buffer.
16907 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16908 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16913 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16916 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16920 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16921 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16922 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16923 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16924 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16925 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16926 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16927 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
16930 @node Outgoing Messages
16931 @subsection Outgoing Messages
16933 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
16934 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
16935 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
16937 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
16938 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
16939 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
16940 messages in the draft group.
16944 @node Agent Variables
16945 @subsection Agent Variables
16948 @item gnus-agent-directory
16949 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
16950 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
16951 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16953 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16954 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
16955 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
16956 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
16957 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
16960 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16961 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16962 Hook run when connecting to the network.
16964 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16965 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16966 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16968 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
16969 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
16970 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
16972 @item gnus-agent-cache
16973 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
16974 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
16975 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
16976 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
16978 @item gnus-agent-go-online
16979 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
16980 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
16981 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
16982 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
16983 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
16984 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
16990 @node Example Setup
16991 @subsection Example Setup
16993 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16994 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16995 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16998 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16999 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17000 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17002 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17003 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17004 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17006 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17007 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17009 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17010 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17011 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17014 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17015 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17018 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17019 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17020 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17021 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17022 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17025 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17026 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17027 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17028 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17029 back all the killed groups.)
17031 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17032 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17033 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17036 @node Batching Agents
17037 @subsection Batching Agents
17039 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17040 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17041 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17045 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17049 @node Agent Caveats
17050 @subsection Agent Caveats
17052 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17053 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17057 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17061 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17063 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17067 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17068 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17069 locally stored articles.
17076 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17077 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17078 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17081 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17082 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17083 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17084 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17085 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17087 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17088 before generating the summary buffer.
17090 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17091 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17092 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17094 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17095 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17096 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17097 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17100 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17101 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17102 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17103 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17104 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17105 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17106 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17107 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17108 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17109 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17110 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17111 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17112 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17113 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17114 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17115 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17116 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17120 @node Summary Score Commands
17121 @section Summary Score Commands
17122 @cindex score commands
17124 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17125 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17126 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17127 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17128 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17130 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17131 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17132 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17133 score file the current one.
17135 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17140 @kindex V s (Summary)
17141 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17142 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17145 @kindex V S (Summary)
17146 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17147 Display the score of the current article
17148 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17151 @kindex V t (Summary)
17152 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17153 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17154 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17157 @kindex V w (Summary)
17158 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17159 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17162 @kindex V R (Summary)
17163 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17164 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17165 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17166 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17167 effect you're having.
17170 @kindex V c (Summary)
17171 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17172 Make a different score file the current
17173 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17176 @kindex V e (Summary)
17177 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17178 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17179 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17183 @kindex V f (Summary)
17184 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17185 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17186 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17189 @kindex V F (Summary)
17190 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17191 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17192 after editing score files.
17195 @kindex V C (Summary)
17196 @findex gnus-score-customize
17197 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17198 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17202 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17207 @kindex V m (Summary)
17208 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17209 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17210 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17213 @kindex V x (Summary)
17214 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17215 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17216 expunge all articles below this score
17217 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17220 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17221 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17224 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17225 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17229 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17230 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17232 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17233 keys are available:
17237 Score on the author name.
17240 Score on the subject line.
17243 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17246 Score on the @code{References} line.
17252 Score on the number of lines.
17255 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17258 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17259 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17262 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17263 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17264 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17273 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17279 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17280 what headers you are scoring on.
17292 Substring matching.
17295 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17324 Greater than number.
17329 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17330 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17331 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17336 Temporary score entry.
17339 Permanent score entry.
17342 Immediately scoring.
17346 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17347 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17348 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17352 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17353 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17354 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17355 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17357 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17358 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17359 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17360 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17361 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17363 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17364 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17365 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17366 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17367 current score file.
17369 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17370 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17371 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17374 @node Group Score Commands
17375 @section Group Score Commands
17376 @cindex group score commands
17378 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17383 @kindex W f (Group)
17384 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17385 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17386 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17387 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17391 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17393 @findex gnus-batch-score
17394 @cindex batch scoring
17396 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17400 @node Score Variables
17401 @section Score Variables
17402 @cindex score variables
17406 @item gnus-use-scoring
17407 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17408 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17409 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17411 @item gnus-kill-killed
17412 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17413 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17414 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17415 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17416 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17417 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17418 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17420 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17421 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17422 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17423 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17424 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17426 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17427 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17428 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17429 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17431 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17432 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17433 @cindex score cache
17434 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17435 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17436 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
17437 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17438 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17439 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17442 @item gnus-save-score
17443 @vindex gnus-save-score
17444 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17445 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17446 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17448 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17449 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17450 across group visits.
17452 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17453 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17454 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17455 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17456 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17457 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17458 manually entered data.
17460 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17461 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17462 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17464 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17465 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17466 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17467 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17468 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17469 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17471 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17472 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17473 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17474 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17476 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17477 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17478 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17479 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17481 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17482 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17483 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17484 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17486 Predefined functions available are:
17489 @item gnus-score-find-single
17490 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17491 Only apply the group's own score file.
17493 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17494 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17495 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17496 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17497 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17498 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17499 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17500 then a regexp match is done.
17502 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17503 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17505 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17506 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17507 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17508 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17510 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17511 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17512 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17513 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17514 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17518 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17519 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17520 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17521 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17522 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17523 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17524 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17527 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17528 overall score file, you could use the value
17530 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17531 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17534 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17535 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17536 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17537 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17538 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17540 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17541 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17542 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17543 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17544 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17545 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17546 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17547 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17549 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17550 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17551 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17553 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17554 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17555 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17556 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17557 threading---according to the current value of
17558 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17559 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17560 simplified in this manner.
17565 @node Score File Format
17566 @section Score File Format
17567 @cindex score file format
17569 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17570 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17571 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17573 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17577 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17579 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17581 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17583 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17588 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17592 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17593 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17594 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17595 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17599 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17600 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17602 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17603 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17604 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17606 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17611 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17612 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17613 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17614 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17615 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17616 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17617 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17618 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17619 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17620 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17621 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17622 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17623 to articles that matches these score entries.
17625 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17626 score entry has one to four elements.
17630 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17631 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17635 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17636 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17637 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17638 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17639 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17640 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17643 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17644 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17645 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17646 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17647 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17650 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17651 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17652 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17653 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17656 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17657 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17658 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17659 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17660 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17661 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17662 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17663 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17664 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17665 instead, if you feel like.
17668 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17669 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17670 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17671 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17672 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17673 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17676 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17680 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17681 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17683 These predicates are true if
17686 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17689 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17690 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17697 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17698 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17699 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17700 it's not. I think.)
17702 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17703 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17704 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17705 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17708 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17709 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17710 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17711 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17712 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17713 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17714 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17718 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17719 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17720 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17721 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17722 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17723 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17724 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17725 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17728 @item Head, Body, All
17729 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17733 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17734 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17735 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17736 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17737 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17738 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17739 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17743 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17744 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17745 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17746 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17747 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17748 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17749 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17750 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17751 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17752 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17753 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17757 @cindex Score File Atoms
17759 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17760 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17763 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17764 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17766 @item mark-and-expunge
17767 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17768 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17771 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17772 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17773 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17774 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17775 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17778 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17779 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17782 @item exclude-files
17783 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17784 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17788 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17789 ignored when handling global score files.
17792 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17793 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17794 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17795 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17798 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17799 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17800 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17801 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17803 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17807 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17810 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17811 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17812 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17813 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17814 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17816 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17817 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17818 scoring rules exist.
17821 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17822 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17823 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17824 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17825 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17826 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17827 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17828 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17829 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17830 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17831 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17835 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17836 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17837 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17838 file for a number of groups.
17841 @cindex local variables
17842 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17843 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17844 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17845 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17846 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17850 @node Score File Editing
17851 @section Score File Editing
17853 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17854 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17855 with a mode for that.
17857 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17858 additional commands:
17863 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17864 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17865 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17866 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17869 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17870 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17871 Insert the current date in numerical format
17872 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17873 you were wondering.
17876 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
17877 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
17878 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
17879 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
17880 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
17885 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
17887 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
17888 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
17890 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
17891 e} to begin editing score files.
17894 @node Adaptive Scoring
17895 @section Adaptive Scoring
17896 @cindex adaptive scoring
17898 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
17899 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
17900 stupidity, to be precise.
17902 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
17903 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
17904 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
17905 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
17906 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17907 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
17908 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
17909 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
17910 variable to @code{(word line)}.
17912 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17913 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
17914 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
17915 might look something like this:
17918 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17919 '((gnus-unread-mark)
17920 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
17921 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
17922 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
17923 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
17924 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
17925 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
17926 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
17927 (gnus-ancient-mark)
17928 (gnus-low-score-mark)
17929 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
17932 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
17933 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
17934 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
17935 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
17936 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
17937 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
17940 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
17941 will be applied to each article.
17943 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
17944 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
17945 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
17946 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
17948 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
17949 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
17950 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
17951 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
17953 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
17954 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
17955 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
17956 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
17958 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
17959 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
17960 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
17961 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
17962 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
17963 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
17965 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
17966 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
17967 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
17968 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
17969 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
17970 aspirins afterwards.)
17972 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
17973 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
17974 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
17976 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
17977 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
17978 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
17980 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
17981 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
17982 let you use different rules in different groups.
17984 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
17985 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
17986 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
17989 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
17990 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
17991 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
17992 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
17993 the length of the match is less than
17994 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
17995 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
17998 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17999 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18000 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18001 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18002 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18005 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18006 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18007 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18008 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18009 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18012 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18013 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18014 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18015 score with 30 points.
18017 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18018 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18019 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18020 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18021 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18023 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18024 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18025 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18026 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18027 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18029 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18030 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18031 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18032 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18034 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18035 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18036 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18037 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18039 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18040 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18041 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18042 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18043 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18045 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18046 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18047 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18049 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18050 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18051 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18052 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18055 @node Home Score File
18056 @section Home Score File
18058 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18059 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18060 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18061 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18063 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18064 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18065 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18067 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18068 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18073 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18077 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18078 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18082 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18086 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18087 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18090 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18091 the home score file.
18094 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18097 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18102 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18105 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18106 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18109 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18110 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18112 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18114 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18115 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18118 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18119 Other functions include
18122 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18123 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18124 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18125 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18129 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18130 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18131 their own home score files:
18134 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18135 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18136 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18137 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18138 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18141 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18142 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18143 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18144 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18145 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18147 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18148 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18149 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18150 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18151 precedence over this variable.
18154 @node Followups To Yourself
18155 @section Followups To Yourself
18157 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18158 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18159 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18160 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18161 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18162 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18166 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18167 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18168 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18171 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18172 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18173 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18177 @vindex message-sent-hook
18178 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18179 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18181 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18185 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18186 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18190 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18191 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18194 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18195 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18200 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18204 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18205 is system-dependent.
18208 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18209 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18210 @cindex scoring on other headers
18212 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18213 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18214 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18215 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18216 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18218 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18219 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18220 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18221 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18222 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18224 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18227 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18228 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18231 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18232 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18233 time if you have much mail.
18235 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18236 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18242 @section Scoring Tips
18243 @cindex scoring tips
18249 @cindex scoring crossposts
18250 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18251 the @code{Xref} header.
18253 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18256 @item Multiple crossposts
18257 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18258 more than, say, 3 groups:
18261 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18265 @item Matching on the body
18266 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18267 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18268 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18269 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18270 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18271 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18272 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18275 @item Marking as read
18276 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18277 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18278 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18282 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18284 @item Negated character classes
18285 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18286 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18287 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18291 @node Reverse Scoring
18292 @section Reverse Scoring
18293 @cindex reverse scoring
18295 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18296 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18297 like this in your score file:
18301 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18306 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18307 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18310 @node Global Score Files
18311 @section Global Score Files
18312 @cindex global score files
18314 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18315 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18316 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18318 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18319 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18320 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18322 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18323 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18324 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18325 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18326 files are applicable to which group.
18328 To use the score file
18329 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18330 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18334 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18335 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18336 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18339 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18341 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18342 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18343 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18344 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18346 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18347 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18349 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18350 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18351 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18352 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18353 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18354 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18356 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18362 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18364 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18366 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18368 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18369 lowered out of existence.
18371 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18372 articles completely.
18375 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18376 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18377 old articles for a long time.
18380 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18381 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18382 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18383 holding our breath yet?
18387 @section Kill Files
18390 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18391 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18392 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18394 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18395 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18396 files into score files.
18398 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18399 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18400 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18401 that isn't a very good idea.
18403 Normal kill files look like this:
18406 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18407 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18411 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18412 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18414 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18415 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18418 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18423 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18424 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18425 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18428 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18429 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18430 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18433 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18438 @kindex M-k (Group)
18439 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18440 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18443 @kindex M-K (Group)
18444 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18445 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18448 Kill file variables:
18451 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18452 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18453 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18454 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18455 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18456 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18457 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18459 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18460 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18461 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18462 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18465 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18466 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18467 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18468 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18469 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18470 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18471 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18472 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18473 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18475 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18476 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18477 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18482 @node Converting Kill Files
18483 @section Converting Kill Files
18485 @cindex converting kill files
18487 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18488 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18489 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18492 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18493 You can fetch it from
18494 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18496 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18497 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18498 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18506 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18507 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18508 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18509 news articles generated every day.
18511 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18512 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18513 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18514 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18515 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18516 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18517 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18518 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18521 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18522 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18525 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18526 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18527 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18528 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18532 @node Using GroupLens
18533 @subsection Using GroupLens
18535 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18537 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18538 better bit in town at the moment.
18540 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18544 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18545 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18546 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18547 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18549 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18550 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18551 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18552 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18554 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18555 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18556 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18560 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18561 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18562 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18563 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18564 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18565 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18568 @node Rating Articles
18569 @subsection Rating Articles
18571 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18572 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18573 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18574 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18577 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18582 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18583 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18584 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18587 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18588 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18589 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18590 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18591 threads in rec.humor.
18595 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18596 the score of the article you're reading.
18601 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18602 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18603 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18606 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18607 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18608 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18612 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18613 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18616 @node Displaying Predictions
18617 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18619 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18620 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18621 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18622 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18623 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18625 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18626 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18627 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18628 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18629 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18630 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18631 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18632 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18633 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18634 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18635 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18636 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18637 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18639 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18640 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18641 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18642 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18644 The following are valid values for that variable.
18647 @item prediction-spot
18648 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18651 @item confidence-interval
18652 A numeric confidence interval.
18654 @item prediction-bar
18655 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18657 @item confidence-bar
18658 Numerical confidence.
18660 @item confidence-spot
18661 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18663 @item prediction-num
18664 Plain-old numeric value.
18666 @item confidence-plus-minus
18667 Prediction +/- confidence.
18672 @node GroupLens Variables
18673 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18677 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18678 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18679 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18680 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18683 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18684 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18687 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18688 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18690 @item grouplens-score-offset
18691 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18692 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18695 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18696 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18697 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18702 @node Advanced Scoring
18703 @section Advanced Scoring
18705 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18706 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18707 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18708 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18709 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18711 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18715 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18716 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18717 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18721 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18722 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18724 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18725 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18726 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18727 non-@code{nil} value.
18729 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18730 operator, and various match operators.
18737 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18738 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18739 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18744 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18745 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18746 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18751 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18752 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18756 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18757 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18758 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18759 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18760 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18761 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18762 the ancestry you want to go.
18764 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18765 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18766 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18767 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18768 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18771 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18772 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18774 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18775 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18778 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18779 when he's talking about Gnus:
18783 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18784 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18790 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18794 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18801 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18802 really don't want to read what he's written:
18806 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18807 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18811 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18812 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18813 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18820 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18821 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18822 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18823 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18827 The possibilities are endless.
18830 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18831 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18833 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18834 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18835 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18836 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18837 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18838 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18839 @samp{subject}) first.
18841 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18842 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18853 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18854 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18860 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18867 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18868 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18873 @section Score Decays
18874 @cindex score decays
18877 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
18878 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
18879 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
18880 use them in any sensible way.
18882 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
18883 @findex gnus-decay-score
18884 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
18885 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
18886 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
18887 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
18888 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
18889 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
18890 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
18891 definition of that function:
18894 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
18896 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
18897 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
18900 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
18902 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
18904 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
18907 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
18908 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
18909 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
18910 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
18914 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
18917 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
18920 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
18924 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
18925 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
18926 the new score, which should be an integer.
18928 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
18929 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
18934 @include message.texi
18935 @chapter Emacs MIME
18936 @include emacs-mime.texi
18938 @include sieve.texi
18946 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
18947 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
18948 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
18949 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
18950 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
18951 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
18952 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
18953 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
18954 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
18955 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
18956 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
18957 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
18958 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
18959 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
18960 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
18961 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
18962 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
18963 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
18964 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
18968 @node Process/Prefix
18969 @section Process/Prefix
18970 @cindex process/prefix convention
18972 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
18973 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
18975 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
18976 command to be performed on.
18980 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
18981 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
18982 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
18983 with the current one.
18985 @vindex transient-mark-mode
18986 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
18987 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
18989 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
18990 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
18993 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
18994 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
18996 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
18999 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19000 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19001 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19002 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19004 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19005 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19006 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19007 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19008 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19009 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19010 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19011 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19013 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19014 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19015 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19016 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19017 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19021 @section Interactive
19022 @cindex interaction
19026 @item gnus-novice-user
19027 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19028 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19029 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19030 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19031 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19034 @item gnus-expert-user
19035 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19036 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19037 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19038 matter how strange.
19040 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19041 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19042 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19043 is @code{t} by default.
19045 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19046 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19047 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19052 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19053 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19054 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19056 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19057 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19058 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19059 rule of 900 to the current article.
19061 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19062 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19063 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19064 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19065 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19066 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19067 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19069 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19070 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19071 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19072 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19073 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19074 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19075 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19076 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19077 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19079 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19080 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19081 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19083 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19087 @node Formatting Variables
19088 @section Formatting Variables
19089 @cindex formatting variables
19091 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19092 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19093 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19094 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19095 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19098 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19099 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19100 lots of percentages everywhere.
19103 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19104 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19105 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19106 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19107 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19108 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19109 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19110 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19113 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19114 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19115 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19116 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19117 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19118 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19119 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19120 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19122 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19123 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19125 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19126 @findex gnus-update-format
19127 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19128 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19129 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19130 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19134 @node Formatting Basics
19135 @subsection Formatting Basics
19137 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19138 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19139 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19141 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19142 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19143 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19144 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19145 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19148 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19149 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19150 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19151 less than 4 characters wide.
19153 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19154 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19157 @node Mode Line Formatting
19158 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19160 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19161 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19162 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19163 with the following two differences:
19168 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19171 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19172 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19173 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19174 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19175 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19176 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19177 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19182 @node Advanced Formatting
19183 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19185 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19186 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19187 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19188 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19190 These are the valid modifiers:
19195 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19199 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19204 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19207 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19212 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19215 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19218 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19221 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19227 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19232 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19233 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19234 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19235 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19236 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19237 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19238 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19240 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19241 last operation, padding.
19243 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19244 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
19245 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
19246 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
19247 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
19248 the look of your lines.
19249 @xref{Compilation}.
19252 @node User-Defined Specs
19253 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19255 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19256 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19257 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19258 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19259 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19260 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19261 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19262 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19263 should protect against that.
19265 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19266 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19268 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19269 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19270 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19271 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19275 @node Formatting Fonts
19276 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19278 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19279 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19280 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19281 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19284 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19285 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19286 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19287 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19288 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19289 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19291 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
19292 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
19293 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
19294 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
19295 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
19296 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
19297 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
19298 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
19300 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19303 ;; Create three face types.
19304 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19305 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19307 ;; We want the article count to be in
19308 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19309 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19310 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19312 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19313 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19315 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19316 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19317 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19320 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19321 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19323 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19324 mode-line variables.
19326 @node Positioning Point
19327 @subsection Positioning Point
19329 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19330 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19331 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19333 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19335 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19336 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19337 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19339 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19340 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19341 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19346 @subsection Tabulation
19348 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19349 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19350 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19351 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19353 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19354 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19356 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19357 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19358 This is the soft tabulator.
19360 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19361 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19362 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19365 @node Wide Characters
19366 @subsection Wide Characters
19368 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19369 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19370 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19372 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19373 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19374 these coutries, that's not true.
19376 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19377 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19378 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19379 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19383 @node Window Layout
19384 @section Window Layout
19385 @cindex window layout
19387 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19389 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19390 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19391 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19392 @code{t} by default.
19394 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19395 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19397 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19398 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19399 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19402 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19403 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19404 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19408 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19409 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19410 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19411 possible names is listed below.
19413 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19414 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19417 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19421 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19422 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19423 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19424 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19425 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19426 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19427 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19428 size spec per split.
19430 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19431 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19432 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19433 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19434 present) gets focus.
19436 Here's a more complicated example:
19439 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19440 (summary 0.25 point)
19441 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19445 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19446 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19447 occupy, not a percentage.
19449 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19450 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19451 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19452 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19453 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19456 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19459 (article (horizontal 1.0
19464 (summary 0.25 point)
19469 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19470 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19472 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19473 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19474 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19475 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19476 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19478 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19479 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19480 lines from the splits.
19482 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19486 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19487 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19488 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19489 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19490 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19491 size = number | frame-params
19492 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19495 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19496 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19497 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19498 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19500 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19501 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19502 @cindex window height
19503 @cindex window width
19504 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19505 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19506 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19507 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19508 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19509 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19511 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19512 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19513 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19514 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19516 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19517 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19518 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19519 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19520 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19521 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19522 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19523 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19524 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19525 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19526 configuration list.
19529 (gnus-configure-frame
19533 (article 0.3 point))
19541 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19542 @code{frame} split:
19545 (gnus-configure-frame
19548 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19550 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19551 (user-position . t)
19552 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19557 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19558 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19559 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19560 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19561 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19562 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19563 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19564 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19566 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19567 be found in its default value.
19569 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19570 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19571 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19575 (message (horizontal 1.0
19576 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19578 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19583 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19584 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19585 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19590 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19591 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19592 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19593 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19594 (name . "Message"))
19595 (message 1.0 point))))
19598 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19599 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19600 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19601 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19602 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19605 (gnus-add-configuration
19606 '(article (vertical 1.0
19608 (summary .25 point)
19612 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19613 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19614 Gnus has been loaded.
19616 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19617 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19618 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19619 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19620 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19622 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19623 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19624 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19627 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19631 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19632 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19647 (gnus-add-configuration
19650 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19652 (summary 0.16 point)
19655 (gnus-add-configuration
19658 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19659 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19665 @node Faces and Fonts
19666 @section Faces and Fonts
19671 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19672 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19673 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19678 @section Compilation
19679 @cindex compilation
19680 @cindex byte-compilation
19682 @findex gnus-compile
19684 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19685 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19686 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
19687 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
19688 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
19689 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19690 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19691 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19694 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19695 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19696 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19697 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
19698 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19701 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
19702 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19703 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
19704 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
19705 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
19710 @section Mode Lines
19713 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19714 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19715 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19716 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19717 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19718 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19719 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19722 @cindex display-time
19724 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19725 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19726 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19727 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19728 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19729 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19730 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19731 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19734 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19736 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19737 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19739 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19740 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19741 (length display-time-string)))))
19744 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19745 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19746 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19747 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19748 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19751 @node Highlighting and Menus
19752 @section Highlighting and Menus
19754 @cindex highlighting
19757 @vindex gnus-visual
19758 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19759 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19760 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19763 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19764 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19767 @item group-highlight
19768 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19769 @item summary-highlight
19770 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19771 @item article-highlight
19772 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19774 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19776 Create menus in the group buffer.
19778 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19780 Create menus in the article buffer.
19782 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19784 Create menus in the server buffer.
19786 Create menus in the score buffers.
19788 Create menus in all buffers.
19791 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19792 buffers, you could say something like:
19795 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19798 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19801 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19804 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19805 in all Gnus buffers.
19807 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19810 @item gnus-mouse-face
19811 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19812 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19813 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19817 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19821 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19822 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19823 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19825 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19826 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19827 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19829 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19830 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19831 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19833 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19834 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19835 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19837 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19838 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19839 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19841 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19842 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19843 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19854 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19855 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19856 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19857 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19858 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19862 @vindex gnus-carpal
19863 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19864 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19865 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19870 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19871 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19872 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19874 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19875 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19876 Face used on buttons.
19878 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19879 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19880 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
19882 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19883 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19884 Buttons in the group buffer.
19886 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19887 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19888 Buttons in the summary buffer.
19890 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19891 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19892 Buttons in the server buffer.
19894 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19895 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19896 Buttons in the browse buffer.
19899 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
19900 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
19901 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
19909 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
19910 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
19911 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
19912 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
19913 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
19915 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
19916 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
19917 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
19919 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
19920 been idle for thirty minutes:
19923 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
19926 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
19930 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
19933 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
19934 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
19935 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19937 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
19938 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
19939 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
19940 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19942 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
19943 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
19944 @var{idle} minutes.
19946 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
19947 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
19950 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
19951 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
19952 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
19954 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
19955 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
19956 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
19957 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
19959 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
19960 your @file{.gnus} file:
19962 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
19964 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
19967 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
19968 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
19969 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
19970 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
19971 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
19972 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
19973 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
19974 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
19975 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
19976 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
19977 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
19979 @findex gnus-demon-init
19980 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
19981 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
19982 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
19983 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
19984 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
19986 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
19987 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
19988 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
19997 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
19998 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20000 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20001 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20002 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20003 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20006 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20007 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20008 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20009 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20011 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20012 this will make spam disappear.
20014 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20017 @item gnus-use-nocem
20018 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20019 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20022 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20023 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20024 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20025 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20026 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20028 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20029 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20030 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20031 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20032 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20033 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20035 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20036 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20038 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20039 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20040 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20041 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20042 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20043 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20044 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20045 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20046 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20047 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20049 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20050 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20053 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20056 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20057 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20060 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20063 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20066 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20067 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20069 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20070 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20071 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20072 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20074 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20075 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20078 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20080 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20088 This might be dangerous, though.
20090 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20091 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20092 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20093 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20095 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20096 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20097 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20098 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20099 might then see old spam.
20101 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20102 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20103 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20104 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20105 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20108 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20109 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20110 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20111 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20115 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20116 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20117 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20118 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20125 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20126 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20127 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20129 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20130 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20131 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20132 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20133 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20134 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20135 @code{undo} function.
20137 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20138 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20139 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20140 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20141 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20142 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20143 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20144 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20145 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20146 never be totally undoable.
20148 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20149 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20151 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20152 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20153 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20154 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20158 @node Predicate Specifiers
20159 @section Predicate Specifiers
20160 @cindex predicate specifiers
20162 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20163 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20164 to type all that much.
20166 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20171 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20172 gnus-article-unread-p)
20175 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20176 functions all take one parameter.
20178 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20179 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20180 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20181 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20186 @section Moderation
20189 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20190 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20191 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20194 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20198 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20201 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20203 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20208 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20209 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20210 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20213 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20214 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20217 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20218 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20222 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20225 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20226 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20230 @node Image Enhancements
20231 @section Image Enhancements
20233 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20234 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20237 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20238 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20239 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20240 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20241 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20254 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20255 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20256 over your shoulder as you read news.
20259 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20260 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20261 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20262 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20263 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20268 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20270 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20279 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20280 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20281 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20282 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20283 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20284 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20285 @code{GIF} formats.
20288 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20289 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20290 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20291 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20292 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20294 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20295 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20296 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20297 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20298 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20299 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20301 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20302 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20305 @node Picon Requirements
20306 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20308 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20309 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20310 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20311 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20313 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20314 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20315 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20316 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20317 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20318 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20321 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20323 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20324 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20327 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20328 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20331 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20332 containing the Picons databases.
20334 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20337 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20338 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20343 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20351 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20352 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20353 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20354 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20355 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20360 @item gnus-picons-database
20361 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20362 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20363 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20364 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20365 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20366 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20368 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20369 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20370 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20371 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20372 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20373 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20374 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20376 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20377 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20378 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20379 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20380 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20381 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20382 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20383 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20385 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20386 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20387 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20392 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20393 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20395 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20396 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20399 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20401 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20402 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20403 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20404 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20406 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20407 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20408 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20409 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20415 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20416 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20424 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20425 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20426 don't need to worry about.
20430 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20431 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20432 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20433 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20435 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20436 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20437 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20438 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20440 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20441 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20442 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20443 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20444 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20446 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20447 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20448 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20449 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20450 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20451 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20452 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20453 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20455 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20456 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20457 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20458 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20459 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20461 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20462 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20463 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20464 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20465 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20466 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20467 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20469 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20470 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20471 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20472 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20474 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20475 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20476 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20477 Defaults to @code{t}.
20479 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20480 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20481 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20482 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20484 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20485 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20486 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20488 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20489 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20490 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20491 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20493 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20494 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20496 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20497 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20498 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20499 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20500 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20501 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20502 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20503 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20514 @subsection Smileys
20519 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20524 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20525 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20527 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20528 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20531 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20534 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20535 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20536 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20537 text and maps that to file names.
20539 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20540 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20541 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20542 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20543 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20544 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20546 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20547 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20549 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20550 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20551 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20553 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20554 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20558 @item smiley-data-directory
20559 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20560 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20562 @item smiley-flesh-color
20563 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20564 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20566 @item smiley-features-color
20567 @vindex smiley-features-color
20568 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20570 @item smiley-tongue-color
20571 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20572 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20574 @item smiley-circle-color
20575 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20576 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20578 @item smiley-mouse-face
20579 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20580 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20589 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20590 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20591 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20595 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20596 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20597 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20598 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20606 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20607 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20608 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20609 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20611 The variable that controls this is the
20612 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20613 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20614 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20615 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20616 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20618 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20619 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20620 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20621 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20624 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20625 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20626 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20627 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20628 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20629 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20630 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20631 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20633 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20636 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20637 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20639 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20640 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20641 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20642 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20643 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20644 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20646 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a file as the parameter, and then
20647 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20648 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20650 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20651 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20654 (setq message-required-news-headers
20655 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20656 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20659 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20662 (setq message-required-news-headers
20663 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20664 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20665 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20666 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20671 @subsection Toolbar
20681 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20682 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20683 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20684 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20685 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20687 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20688 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20689 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20691 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20692 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20693 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20695 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20696 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20697 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20703 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20706 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20707 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20708 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20709 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20710 unusual directory structure.
20712 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20713 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20714 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20715 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20717 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20718 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20719 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20720 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20721 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20722 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20724 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20725 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20726 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20740 @node Fuzzy Matching
20741 @section Fuzzy Matching
20742 @cindex fuzzy matching
20744 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20745 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20747 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20748 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20749 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20751 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20752 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20753 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20754 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20755 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20758 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20759 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20763 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20765 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20766 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20767 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20768 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20769 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20770 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20771 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20772 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20775 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20776 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20777 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20778 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20779 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20780 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20785 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
20786 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
20787 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
20790 @node Anti-Spam Basics
20791 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
20795 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20797 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20798 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20800 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20801 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20802 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20803 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20804 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20805 part of the mail address.)
20808 (setq message-default-news-headers
20809 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20812 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20813 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20818 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20819 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20820 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20826 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20827 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20828 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20829 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20831 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
20832 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20833 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20834 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20835 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20836 your fancy split rule in this way:
20841 (to "larsi" "misc")
20845 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20846 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20847 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20848 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20849 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20851 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20852 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20853 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20854 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20855 cosmic balance somewhat.
20857 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20858 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20859 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20860 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20865 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
20866 @cindex SpamAssassin
20867 @cindex Vipul's Razor
20870 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
20871 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
20872 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
20873 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
20874 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
20875 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
20876 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
20878 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
20879 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
20880 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
20881 Specifiers}) follows.
20885 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
20888 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
20891 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
20892 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
20893 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
20896 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
20900 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20903 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
20904 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
20908 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
20909 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
20910 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
20911 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
20914 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
20916 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
20918 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
20919 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
20921 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
20923 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
20924 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
20928 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
20929 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
20930 spam. And here is the nifty function:
20933 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
20934 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
20936 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
20937 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
20938 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
20942 @subsection Hashcash
20945 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
20946 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
20947 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
20948 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
20949 in smaller communities.
20951 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
20952 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
20953 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
20954 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
20955 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
20956 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
20957 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
20958 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
20959 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
20960 one of them separately.
20963 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
20964 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
20965 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
20966 header. For more details, and for the external application
20967 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
20968 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
20969 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
20971 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
20975 (require 'hashcash)
20976 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
20979 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
20980 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
20981 development contrib directory.
20983 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
20987 @item hashcash-default-payment
20988 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
20989 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
20990 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
20991 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
20993 @item hashcash-payment-alist
20994 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
20995 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
20996 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
20997 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
20998 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
20999 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21000 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21004 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21008 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21009 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21010 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21011 a useful contribution, however.
21013 @node Various Various
21014 @section Various Various
21020 @item gnus-home-directory
21021 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21022 defaults to @file{~/}.
21024 @item gnus-directory
21025 @vindex gnus-directory
21026 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21027 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21028 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21030 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21031 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21032 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21033 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21035 @item gnus-default-directory
21036 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21037 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21038 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21039 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21040 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21041 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21042 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21045 @vindex gnus-verbose
21046 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21047 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21048 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21049 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21050 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21052 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21053 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21054 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21055 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21057 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21058 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21059 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21060 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21061 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21062 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21063 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21064 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21065 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21066 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21068 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21069 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21070 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21071 read when doing the operation described above.
21073 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21074 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21076 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21077 @cindex characters in file names
21078 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21079 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21080 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21083 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21087 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21088 Windows (phooey) systems.
21090 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21091 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21092 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21093 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21094 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21096 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21097 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21098 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21099 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21100 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21102 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21103 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21104 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21106 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21107 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21109 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21110 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21111 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21112 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21115 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21123 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21124 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21126 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21128 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21134 Not because of victories @*
21137 but for the common sunshine,@*
21139 the largess of the spring.
21143 but for the day's work done@*
21144 as well as I was able;@*
21145 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21146 but at the common table.@*
21151 @chapter Appendices
21154 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21155 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21156 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21157 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21158 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21159 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21160 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21161 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21162 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21169 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21171 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21172 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21173 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21174 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21175 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
21182 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21183 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21185 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21186 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21187 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21188 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21189 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21191 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21192 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21193 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21194 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21195 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21196 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21198 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21199 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21200 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21201 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21204 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21205 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21206 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21207 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21208 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21209 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21210 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21211 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21212 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21216 @node Gnus Versions
21217 @subsection Gnus Versions
21219 @cindex September Gnus
21221 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21222 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21226 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21227 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21228 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21230 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21231 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21233 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21234 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21236 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21237 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21239 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21240 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21243 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21245 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21246 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21247 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21248 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21249 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21250 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21253 @node Other Gnus Versions
21254 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21257 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21258 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21259 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21260 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21262 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21263 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21264 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21265 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21272 What's the point of Gnus?
21274 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21275 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21276 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21277 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21278 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21279 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21280 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21281 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21282 keep track of millions of people who post?
21284 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21285 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21286 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21287 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21288 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21289 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21290 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21291 every one of you to explore and invent.
21293 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21294 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21297 @node Compatibility
21298 @subsection Compatibility
21300 @cindex compatibility
21301 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21302 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21303 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21308 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21312 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21315 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21318 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21319 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21320 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21321 important variables have their values copied into their global
21322 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21323 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21325 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21326 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21327 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21328 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21329 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21333 @cindex highlighting
21334 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21335 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21336 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21337 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21338 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21339 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21342 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21343 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21344 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21345 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21347 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21348 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21349 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21350 to stop doing it the old way.
21352 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21354 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21356 @cindex reporting bugs
21358 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21359 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21360 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21362 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21363 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21364 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21365 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21370 @subsection Conformity
21372 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21373 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21381 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21385 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21387 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21388 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21389 We do have some breaches to this one.
21395 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21396 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21397 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21398 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21399 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21404 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21405 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21406 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21407 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21409 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21411 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21413 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21414 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21416 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21419 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21420 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21421 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21422 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21423 decoding (verification and decryption).
21425 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21426 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21427 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21428 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21430 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21431 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21433 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21434 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21435 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21436 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21437 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21438 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21439 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21443 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21444 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21449 @subsection Emacsen
21455 Gnus should work on :
21463 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
21467 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21468 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21469 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
21470 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
21471 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
21473 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21474 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21475 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21479 @node Gnus Development
21480 @subsection Gnus Development
21482 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21483 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21484 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21485 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21486 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21487 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21488 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21489 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21491 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21492 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21493 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21494 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21495 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21498 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21499 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21500 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21501 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21502 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21504 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21505 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21506 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21507 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21508 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21509 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21510 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21511 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21512 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21513 can't be assumed to do so.
21518 @subsection Contributors
21519 @cindex contributors
21521 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21522 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21523 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21524 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21525 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21526 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21527 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21528 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21529 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21530 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21532 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21538 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21541 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21542 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21543 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21544 functionality and stuff.
21547 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21548 well as numerous other things).
21551 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21554 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21557 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21560 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21563 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21564 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21567 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21570 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21571 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21574 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21577 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21580 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21583 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21586 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21587 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21590 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21593 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21596 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21599 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21603 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21606 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21609 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21612 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21613 well as autoconf support.
21617 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21618 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21620 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21629 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21633 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21643 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21658 Massimo Campostrini,
21663 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21664 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21668 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21671 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21677 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21682 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21686 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21694 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21696 Michelangelo Grigni,
21700 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21702 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21704 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21711 François Felix Ingrand,
21712 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21713 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21715 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21726 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21727 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21729 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21730 Thor Kristoffersen,
21733 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21751 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21752 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21759 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21764 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21768 John McClary Prevost,
21774 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21779 Christian von Roques,
21782 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21789 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21791 Randal L. Schwartz,
21805 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21810 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21826 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21831 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21832 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21833 (550kB and counting).
21835 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21838 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21839 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21843 @subsection New Features
21844 @cindex new features
21847 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21848 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21849 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21850 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21851 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21854 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21855 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21856 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21859 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21861 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
21866 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
21867 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
21870 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
21871 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
21874 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
21877 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
21878 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
21879 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
21882 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
21883 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
21884 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
21885 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21888 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
21889 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21892 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
21893 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
21894 (@pxref{The Active File}).
21897 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
21898 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
21901 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
21902 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
21903 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21906 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
21907 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
21908 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
21911 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
21912 the @file{.emacs} file.
21915 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
21916 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
21919 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
21920 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
21923 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
21924 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21927 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
21928 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
21931 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
21932 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21935 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
21938 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
21939 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
21942 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
21943 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
21946 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
21947 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
21950 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
21953 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
21954 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
21957 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
21961 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
21965 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
21966 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
21969 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
21975 @node September Gnus
21976 @subsubsection September Gnus
21980 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
21984 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
21989 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
21990 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
21994 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
21995 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
21999 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22003 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22004 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22007 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22011 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22014 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22017 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22020 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22024 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22025 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22028 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22032 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22036 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22040 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22044 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22047 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22048 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22051 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22055 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22056 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22059 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22062 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22063 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22064 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22067 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22071 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22074 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22078 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22079 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22082 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22083 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22086 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22087 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22090 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22091 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22092 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22095 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22096 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22099 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22102 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22105 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22108 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22111 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22112 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22115 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22119 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22122 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22127 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22130 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22134 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22137 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22141 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22144 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22147 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22148 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22151 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22152 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22156 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22157 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22160 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22164 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22165 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22168 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22171 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22175 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22179 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22180 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22183 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22187 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22188 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22191 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22192 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22195 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22199 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22202 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22205 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22211 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22213 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22217 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22224 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22227 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22228 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22231 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22232 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22236 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22237 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22240 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22243 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22244 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22247 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22251 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22252 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22256 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22257 Server Internals}).
22260 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22264 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22267 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22268 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22271 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22272 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22273 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22276 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22277 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22280 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22281 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22284 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22288 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22289 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22292 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22293 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22296 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22300 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22303 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22307 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22308 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22311 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22312 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22315 A new command for reading collections of documents
22316 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22317 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22320 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22324 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22325 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22328 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22329 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22330 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22333 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22334 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22338 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22342 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22346 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22351 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22355 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22359 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22360 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22363 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22369 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22371 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22376 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22377 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22378 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22381 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22382 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22383 group, which is created automatically.
22386 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22390 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22393 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22394 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22397 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22401 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22404 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22405 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22408 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22411 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22412 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22415 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22416 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22419 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22420 control over simplification.
22423 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22426 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22430 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22433 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22436 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22437 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22438 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22441 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22442 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22445 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22449 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22450 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22453 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22454 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22457 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22461 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22464 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22467 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22468 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22471 A new function for citing in Message has been
22472 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22475 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22478 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22482 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22483 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22486 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22487 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22490 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22493 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22497 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22498 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22500 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22505 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22506 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22508 If you used procmail like in
22511 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22512 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22513 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22514 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22517 this now has changed to
22521 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22525 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22526 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22529 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22530 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22533 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22534 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22537 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22538 called to position point.
22541 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22542 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22545 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22546 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22549 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22550 subtly different manner.
22553 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22554 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22555 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22558 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22566 @section The Manual
22570 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22571 either @code{texi2dvi}
22573 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22574 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22576 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22578 The following conventions have been used:
22583 This is a @samp{string}
22586 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22589 This is a @file{file}
22592 This is a @code{symbol}
22596 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22600 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22603 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22606 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22609 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22610 ever get them confused.
22614 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22615 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22616 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22617 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22618 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22619 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22620 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22626 @node On Writing Manuals
22627 @section On Writing Manuals
22629 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22630 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22631 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22632 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22633 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22634 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22637 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22638 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22639 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22642 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22643 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22648 @section Terminology
22650 @cindex terminology
22655 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22656 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22657 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22658 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22659 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22663 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22664 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22665 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22666 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22670 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22674 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22679 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
22680 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
22681 is all done by the back ends.
22685 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22686 default, way of getting news.
22690 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22691 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22696 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22697 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22701 A message that has been posted as news.
22704 @cindex mail message
22705 A message that has been mailed.
22709 A mail message or news article
22713 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22718 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22723 A line from the head of an article.
22727 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22728 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22732 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22733 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22734 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22735 normal @sc{head} format.
22739 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22740 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22741 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22742 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22743 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22744 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22746 @item killed groups
22747 @cindex killed groups
22748 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22749 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22751 @item zombie groups
22752 @cindex zombie groups
22753 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22756 @cindex active file
22757 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22758 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22759 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22762 @cindex bogus groups
22763 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22764 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22765 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22768 @cindex activating groups
22769 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22770 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22771 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22775 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22777 @item select method
22778 @cindex select method
22779 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22782 @item virtual server
22783 @cindex virtual server
22784 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22785 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22786 whole is a virtual server.
22790 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22791 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22794 @item ephemeral groups
22795 @cindex ephemeral groups
22796 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22797 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22798 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22801 @cindex solid groups
22802 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22803 group buffer are solid groups.
22805 @item sparse articles
22806 @cindex sparse articles
22807 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22808 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22812 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22813 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22817 @cindex thread root
22818 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22819 articles in the thread.
22823 An article that has responses.
22827 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22831 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22832 specified by RFC 1153.
22838 @node Customization
22839 @section Customization
22840 @cindex general customization
22842 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
22843 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
22844 for some quite common situations.
22847 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
22848 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
22849 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
22850 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
22854 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
22855 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
22857 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
22858 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
22859 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
22863 @item gnus-read-active-file
22864 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
22865 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
22866 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22867 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
22868 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
22870 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
22871 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
22872 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
22873 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
22877 @node Slow Terminal Connection
22878 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
22880 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
22881 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
22882 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
22886 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
22887 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
22888 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
22889 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
22890 horizontal and vertical recentering.
22892 @item gnus-visible-headers
22893 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
22894 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
22895 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
22896 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
22898 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
22900 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
22901 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
22902 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
22905 @item gnus-use-full-window
22906 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
22907 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
22908 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
22909 want to read them anyway.
22911 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
22912 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
22916 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
22917 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
22918 lines, which might save some time.
22922 @node Little Disk Space
22923 @subsection Little Disk Space
22926 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
22927 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
22931 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
22932 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
22933 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
22934 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22937 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
22938 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
22939 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
22940 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22943 @item gnus-save-killed-list
22944 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
22945 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
22946 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
22947 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
22953 @subsection Slow Machine
22954 @cindex slow machine
22956 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
22957 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
22959 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22960 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
22962 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
22963 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
22964 summary buffer faster.
22968 @node Troubleshooting
22969 @section Troubleshooting
22970 @cindex troubleshooting
22972 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
22980 Make sure your computer is switched on.
22983 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
22984 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
22988 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
22989 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
22990 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
22991 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
22992 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
22995 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
22999 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23000 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23001 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23002 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23003 something like that.
23006 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23009 @cindex reporting bugs
23011 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23013 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23014 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23015 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23016 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23018 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23019 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23020 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23021 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23024 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23025 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23026 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23027 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23028 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23029 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23031 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23032 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23033 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23037 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23038 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23040 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23041 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23043 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23044 @cindex ding mailing list
23045 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23046 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23050 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23051 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23053 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23054 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23055 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23056 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23059 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23060 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23061 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23062 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23063 and general methods of operation.
23066 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23067 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23068 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23069 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23070 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23071 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23072 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23073 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23074 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23078 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23079 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23080 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23081 @cindex utility functions
23083 @cindex internal variables
23085 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23086 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23087 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23091 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23092 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23093 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23095 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23096 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23097 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23099 @item gnus-group-real-name
23100 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23101 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23104 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23105 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23106 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23107 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23109 @item gnus-get-info
23110 @findex gnus-get-info
23111 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23113 @item gnus-group-unread
23114 @findex gnus-group-unread
23115 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23119 @findex gnus-active
23120 The active entry for @var{group}.
23122 @item gnus-set-active
23123 @findex gnus-set-active
23124 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23126 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23127 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23128 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23131 @item gnus-continuum-version
23132 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23133 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23134 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23137 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23138 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23139 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23141 @item gnus-news-group-p
23142 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23143 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23145 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23146 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23147 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23149 @item gnus-server-to-method
23150 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23151 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23153 @item gnus-server-equal
23154 @findex gnus-server-equal
23155 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23157 @item gnus-group-native-p
23158 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23159 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23161 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23162 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23163 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23165 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23166 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23167 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23169 @item group-group-find-parameter
23170 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23171 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23172 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23174 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23175 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23176 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23178 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23179 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23180 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23182 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23183 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23184 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23185 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23188 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23192 @item gnus-read-method
23193 @findex gnus-read-method
23194 Prompts the user for a select method.
23199 @node Back End Interface
23200 @subsection Back End Interface
23202 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23203 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23204 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23205 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23206 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23207 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23209 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23210 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23211 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23212 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23213 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23214 been opened, the function should fail.
23216 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23217 name. Take this example:
23221 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23222 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23225 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23226 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23228 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23229 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23230 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23232 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23233 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23234 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23236 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23237 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23238 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23239 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23240 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23241 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23244 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23245 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23246 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23247 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23250 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23251 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23252 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23253 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23254 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23255 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23256 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23257 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23258 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23259 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23261 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23262 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23263 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23264 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23265 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23266 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23267 of numbers as long as possible.
23269 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23272 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23275 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23276 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23277 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23278 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23279 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23280 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23284 @node Required Back End Functions
23285 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23289 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23291 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23292 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23293 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23294 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23296 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23297 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23298 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23299 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23301 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23302 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23303 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23304 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23305 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23306 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23307 number, do maximum fetches.
23309 Here's an example HEAD:
23312 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23313 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23314 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23315 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23316 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23317 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23318 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23320 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23321 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23322 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23326 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23327 these in the data buffer.
23329 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23333 head = error / valid-head
23334 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23335 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23336 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23337 header = <text> eol
23340 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23341 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23345 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23346 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23347 field = <text except TAB>
23350 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23354 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23356 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23357 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23359 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23360 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23361 server. In fact, it should do so.
23363 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23364 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23367 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23369 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23370 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23373 There should be no data returned.
23376 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23378 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23379 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23380 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23381 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23383 There should be no data returned.
23386 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23388 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23389 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23390 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23391 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23393 There should be no data returned.
23396 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23398 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23400 There should be no data returned.
23403 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23405 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23406 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23407 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23408 it would be nice if that were possible.
23410 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23411 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23412 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23413 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23414 into its article buffer.
23416 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23417 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23418 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23419 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23420 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23421 on successful article retrieval.
23424 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23426 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23427 making @var{group} the current group.
23429 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23432 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23435 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23438 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23439 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23440 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23441 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23442 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23443 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23444 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23445 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23446 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23450 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23451 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23452 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23456 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23458 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23459 a no-op on most back ends.
23461 There should be no data returned.
23464 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23466 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23469 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23472 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23473 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23476 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23477 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23478 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23479 and the highest as 0.
23482 active-file = *active-line
23483 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23485 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23488 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23489 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23490 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23493 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23495 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23496 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23497 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23498 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23499 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23500 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23502 There should be no result data from this function.
23507 @node Optional Back End Functions
23508 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23512 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23514 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23515 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23516 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23518 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23519 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23520 former is in the same format as the data from
23521 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23522 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23525 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23529 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23531 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23532 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23533 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23534 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23535 should return the (altered) group info.
23537 There should be no result data from this function.
23540 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23542 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23543 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23544 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23545 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23546 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23547 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23548 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23549 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23551 There should be no result data from this function.
23554 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23556 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23557 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23558 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23559 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23560 propagate the mark information to the server.
23562 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23565 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23568 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23569 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23570 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23571 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23572 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23573 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23574 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23575 possible, not limit itself to these.
23577 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23578 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23579 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23580 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23582 An example action list:
23585 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23586 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23587 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23590 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23591 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23593 There should be no result data from this function.
23595 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23597 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23598 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23599 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23600 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23601 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23603 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23604 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23605 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23608 There should be no result data from this function.
23611 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23613 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23614 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23615 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23616 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23617 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23618 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23619 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23621 There should be no result data from this function.
23624 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23626 The result data from this function should be a description of
23630 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23632 description = <text>
23635 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23637 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23638 groups available on the server.
23641 description-buffer = *description-line
23645 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23647 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23648 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23649 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23650 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23651 in the active buffer format.
23653 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23654 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23655 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23656 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23657 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23658 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23659 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23662 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23664 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23666 There should be no return data.
23669 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23671 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23672 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23673 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23674 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23675 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23678 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23681 There should be no result data returned.
23684 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23687 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23688 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23690 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23691 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23692 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23693 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23694 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23695 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23697 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23698 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23701 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23702 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23704 There should be no data returned.
23707 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23709 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23710 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23711 this function in short order.
23713 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23714 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23716 There should be no data returned.
23719 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23721 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23722 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23724 There should be no data returned.
23727 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23729 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23730 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23731 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23733 There should be no data returned.
23736 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23738 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23739 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23741 There should be no data returned.
23746 @node Error Messaging
23747 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23749 @findex nnheader-report
23750 @findex nnheader-get-report
23751 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23752 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23753 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23754 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23755 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23756 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23759 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23761 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23764 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23765 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23766 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23767 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23769 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23770 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23771 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23774 @node Writing New Back Ends
23775 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23777 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23778 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23779 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23780 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23781 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23784 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23785 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23786 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23788 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23789 package called @code{nnoo}.
23791 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23792 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23798 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23799 parameters. For instance:
23802 (nnoo-declare nndir
23806 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23807 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23810 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23811 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23812 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23814 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23815 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23816 a function in those back ends.
23819 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23820 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23821 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23824 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23825 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23826 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
23828 @item nnoo-define-basics
23829 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
23833 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23837 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
23838 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
23839 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
23841 @item nnoo-map-functions
23842 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
23843 functions from the parent back ends.
23846 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23847 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23848 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
23851 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
23852 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
23853 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
23854 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
23857 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
23858 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
23859 haven't already been defined.
23865 nnmh-request-newgroups)
23869 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
23870 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
23871 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
23876 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
23879 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
23880 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23884 (require 'nnheader)
23888 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
23890 (nnoo-declare nndir
23893 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23894 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23895 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23897 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
23898 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
23901 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
23903 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
23904 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
23905 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
23907 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
23908 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
23910 ;;; Interface functions.
23912 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23914 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
23915 (setq nndir-directory
23916 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
23918 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
23919 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
23920 (push `(nndir-current-group
23921 ,(file-name-nondirectory
23922 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
23924 (push `(nndir-top-directory
23925 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
23927 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
23929 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23930 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23931 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23932 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
23933 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
23937 nnmh-status-message
23939 nnmh-request-newgroups))
23945 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
23946 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
23948 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
23949 @findex gnus-declare-backend
23950 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
23951 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
23952 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
23954 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
23955 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
23960 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
23963 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
23965 The abilities can be:
23969 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
23971 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
23973 This back end supports both mail and news.
23975 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
23978 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
23979 articles and groups.
23981 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
23982 true for almost all back ends.
23983 @item prompt-address
23984 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
23985 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
23986 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
23990 @node Mail-like Back Ends
23991 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
23993 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
23994 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
23995 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
23996 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
23999 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24000 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24001 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24004 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24005 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24008 This function takes four parameters.
24012 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24015 @item exit-function
24016 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24018 @item temp-directory
24019 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24022 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24023 performed for one group only.
24026 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24027 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24028 find the article number assigned to this article.
24030 The function also uses the following variables:
24031 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24032 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24033 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24034 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24038 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24039 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24043 @node Score File Syntax
24044 @subsection Score File Syntax
24046 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24047 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24048 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24050 Here's a typical score file:
24054 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24061 BNF definition of a score file:
24064 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24065 element = rule / atom
24066 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24067 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24068 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24069 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24071 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24072 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24073 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24074 date-header = "date"
24075 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24076 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24077 score = "nil" / <integer>
24078 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24079 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24080 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24081 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24082 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24083 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24084 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24085 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24086 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24087 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24088 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24089 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24090 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24091 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24092 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24093 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24094 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24095 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24096 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24097 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24098 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24099 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24100 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24101 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24102 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24103 eval = "eval" space <form>
24104 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24107 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24110 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24111 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24112 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24113 one looong line, then that's ok.
24115 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24116 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24120 @subsection Headers
24122 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24123 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24124 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24125 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24127 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24128 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24129 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24130 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24131 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24132 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24133 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24135 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24136 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24137 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24138 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24139 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24141 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24142 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24148 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24149 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24151 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24152 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24153 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24154 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24156 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24160 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24163 is transformed into
24166 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24169 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24170 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24173 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24176 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24177 is slightly tricky:
24180 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24186 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24189 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24195 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24202 and is equal to the previous range.
24204 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24205 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24206 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24210 range = simple-range / normal-range
24211 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24212 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24213 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24214 number *[ " " contents ]
24217 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24218 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24219 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24220 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24221 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24226 @subsection Group Info
24228 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24229 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24230 describes the group.
24232 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24233 second is a more complex one:
24236 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24238 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24239 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24241 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24244 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24245 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24246 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24247 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24248 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24249 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24250 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24251 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24252 this section is about.
24254 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24255 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24256 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24258 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24261 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24262 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24263 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24264 group = quote <string> quote
24265 ralevel = rank / level
24266 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24267 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24268 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24270 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24271 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24272 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24273 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24276 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24277 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24280 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24281 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24284 @item gnus-info-group
24285 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24286 @findex gnus-info-group
24287 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24288 Get/set the group name.
24290 @item gnus-info-rank
24291 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24292 @findex gnus-info-rank
24293 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24294 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24296 @item gnus-info-level
24297 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24298 @findex gnus-info-level
24299 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24300 Get/set the group level.
24302 @item gnus-info-score
24303 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24304 @findex gnus-info-score
24305 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24306 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24308 @item gnus-info-read
24309 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24310 @findex gnus-info-read
24311 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24312 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24314 @item gnus-info-marks
24315 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24316 @findex gnus-info-marks
24317 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24318 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24320 @item gnus-info-method
24321 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24322 @findex gnus-info-method
24323 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24324 Get/set the group select method.
24326 @item gnus-info-params
24327 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24328 @findex gnus-info-params
24329 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24330 Get/set the group parameters.
24333 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24334 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24336 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24337 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24338 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24339 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24342 @node Extended Interactive
24343 @subsection Extended Interactive
24344 @cindex interactive
24345 @findex gnus-interactive
24347 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24348 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24349 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24352 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24353 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24358 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24359 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24360 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24361 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24362 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24363 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24364 @code{interactive}.
24366 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24371 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24372 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24376 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24377 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24378 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24381 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24385 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24389 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24395 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24396 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24400 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24401 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24402 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24404 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24405 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24406 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24407 Gnus, that's very useful.
24409 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24410 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24411 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24412 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24413 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24414 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24415 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24416 following function:
24419 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24423 (,function ,@@args))
24427 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24428 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24429 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24432 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24433 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24434 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24436 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24437 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24438 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24441 @node Various File Formats
24442 @subsection Various File Formats
24445 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24446 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24450 @node Active File Format
24451 @subsubsection Active File Format
24453 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24454 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24457 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24460 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24461 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24462 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24463 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24464 no.general 1000 900 y
24467 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24470 active = *group-line
24471 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24472 group = <non-white-space string>
24474 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24475 low-number = <positive integer>
24476 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24479 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24480 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24483 @node Newsgroups File Format
24484 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24486 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24487 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24488 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24491 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24492 Here's the definition:
24496 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24497 group = <non-white-space string>
24499 description = <string>
24504 @node Emacs for Heathens
24505 @section Emacs for Heathens
24507 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24508 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24509 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24510 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24511 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24512 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24513 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24517 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24518 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24523 @subsection Keystrokes
24527 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24530 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24533 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24534 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24535 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24536 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24537 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24538 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24540 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24541 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24542 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24543 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24544 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24545 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24546 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24548 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24549 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24550 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24551 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24552 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24553 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24554 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24556 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24557 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24558 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24559 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24560 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24566 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24568 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24569 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24570 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24571 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24573 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24574 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24575 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24576 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24577 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24578 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24579 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24582 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24583 write the following:
24586 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24589 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24590 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24591 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24594 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24595 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24596 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24597 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24598 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24600 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24601 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24602 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24606 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24610 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24613 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24614 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24617 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24620 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24621 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24624 @include gnus-faq.texi
24644 @c Local Variables:
24646 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24648 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24649 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24650 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24651 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24652 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref